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MEDITATIONS OF A WAYFARER, 



As ye go, preach "—Matthew x., 7. 



-&.ttt:h:o:r< oie 1 " spibit - possession", " etc. 



? 1884 

CHICilGDi 
THDS, B, ARNDLI] & CD,, PUBLISHERS, 

1BB4, 




£fl 






Entered according to Act of Cong-tess, In the year 18S3, 

By henry m. hugunin, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



LIST OF CONTENTS. 



Prelude— The Christian Life 4 

1. The Saving Love of God 5 

2. Salvation Depends on Faith 8 

3. The Duty of Entire Consecration 11 

4. The Good Shepherd's Love 13 

5. Why Religious Revivals Are Needed 15 

6. Evils of Sunday-Newspapers 17 

7. Unholy Prejudices Removed 19 

8. The Benefit of Conversion 22 

9. Churches Divinely Sanctioned 25 

10. Christian Freedom 31 

11 Wickedness of Spiritualism 34 

12. The Sinner Befo e God and Men 38 

13. Unscriptural Ideas of Hell 41 

14. Sunday- School Suggestions 45 

15. Spiritual Poverty Illustrated 51 

16. Stability of Christianity 54 

17. Holines-s— Bible Requirements 56 

18. Obedience to God Commended 60 

19. Warnings and Judgments 65 

20. 1 he Bible in Our Schools 71 

21. Preaching Truth Effectually 74 

22. Wickedness of Self- Righteousness 78 

23. People Who Are Tired of the Gospel 81 

24. Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves 84 

25. Paul , as Sinner and Saint 87 

26. Value of Christian Testimony 90 

27. Christianity in Lii e and Death 94 

28. Evils of the "Evolution" Theory 99 

29. The Processes of Salvation 102 

30. The Same Subject, Continued 107 

31. Elements of True Devotion 112 

32. Bible Chronology— Age of the World 115 

33. Paul's "Things of Good Report" 117 

34. The Sins of Great Cities 120 

35. Covetousness— Adversity 123 

36. Christian Life and Ordinances 125 

37. Memories of a Beautiful Life 131 

33. Labor and Laborers 134 

39. The SameSubject, Continued 138 

Finale 144 



-<#=£+ PEBLUDE -•«==!*» 



THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 



We trust in thee, O Lord — 
'Tis all that we can do; 

We glory in thy word — 
Our faith renew! 

We would draw nigh to thee, 
For thou art ever true; 

We would thy glory see — 
Our hope renew! 

Forever to thee, Lord, 
To whom all praise is due, 

Whose smiles our jo}'s afford — 
Our love renew! 



Our times are in thy hand — 
To Christ we bow the knee ; 

Strong in his strength we stand, 
And live to thee I 



B€BIT> MM® BWMFF* 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SAVING LOVE OF GOD ITS CONDITIONS. 

John Bunyan, the famous author of the a Pilgrim's 
Progress," was in his youth extremely wicked, and after- 
ward became one of the holiest men of his times, through 
God's saving love and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
At the period of his conversion from sin to righteous- 
ness, and in the earlier years of his Christian experience, 
he suffered greatly from the temptations and assaults of 
our spiritual adversary for many months, deriving only 
brief intervals of comfort from his religious life. In one 
of his dark hours he seemed to hear God saying to him, 
" I loved thee before thou didst sin; I loved thee while 
thou wert sinning; and I loved thee after thou hadst 
sinned." In his condition at that time, it gave him con- 
siderable satisfaction, and is worth a few moments' con- 
sideration. 

God's love for his creatures has been manifested ever 
since the beginning of the world, in a general manner, by 
their preservation, by providing them with the necessa- 



6 SCPaP AND STAFF. 

ries and comforts of life, and by many other temporal 
blessings. But this is not his saving love. 

The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ was an act 
of saving love, by which a dying world might be re- 
deemed from sin and eternal misery, and men and women 
made inheritors of the joys of everlasting life in heaven. 
It was the highest manifestation of love ever made in the 
universe, and none but God has ever been able to com- 
prehend its fullness. 

But it was not then, to individuals of this generation, 
(in one sense) a saving love, for as yet they had no exist- 
ence. To those who were then alive it might have been — 
and probably was to many — a source of salvation. But 
God knew that we should live in this age of the world, 
and so he loved us before we sinned. 

When we came into the world we were conceived in 
sin and a shapen in iniquity." The sin of Adam was in 
our souls, not by our consent, but because it was our in- 
heritance, and the curse of sin hung over us as it had over 
all previous members of our race. As we grew to youth 
and manhood, the burden of sin increased upon us, be- 
cause of our own acts. But even then God loved us. Still 
it was not a saving love, for those who had died in an 
unconverted condition were not exempt from eternal 
shame and misery. 

And why ? Simply because they rejected God's great 
love and plan of salvation which our Lord Jesus Christ 
died upon the cross to perfect. In rejecting him they lost 
their souls. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 7 

The fault was theirs, not God's. They were rational, 
responsible beings, and the issue was directly between 
God and their own wills. His love was able and willing 
to save them, but they chose to remain in rebellion to 
him. 

Many others of this generation have seen the necessity 
of salvation from sin and its consequences, and have ac 
cepted it upon God's terms. Then, to them, God has in- 
deed shown his saving love in all its fullness and richness. 
They accepted it just as he desired they should, and he 
has put away their sins from them " as far as the east is 
from the west." They have received new life, new 
thoughts, new hopes, new affections, new desires, and have 
become "new creatures in Christ" throughout. 

So God has loved them before they sinned, while they 
were sinners, and after they had sinned. Best of all, he 
loves them now, ar.d they love him. 

As it was with them, so it may be with every sinner 
who still lives. Our Lord Jesus Christ is still " the way, 
the truth and the life," u the same yesterday, to-day, and 
forever," and his love has not grown cold, nor diminished, 
nor lost its power to save, nor become less precious to 
those who enjoy it. It can still save from sin, and from 
being overcome by temptations, and cleanse us from all 
iniquit} 7- . 



SCRIP AND STAFF.' 



CHAPTER II. 

OUR SALVATION DEPENDS UPON FAITH. 

Every one should pray for faith. Even sinners, who 
have no hope and are living without God in the world, 
should pray for faith (although it be a mere mental effort, 
and not an earnest, spiritual exercise), if they are sincere 
in seeking after truth. Such may pray that God will en- 
able them to believe whatever they ought to believe, and 
to reject all false beliefs. A prayer like that will reach 
the throne of grace, and God, the source of all wisdom, 
who " giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not," 
will answer it. The probable effect of such a prayer 
would be, first, a deep conviction of sinfulness, a casting 
away of self-righteousness and infidelity, and then a flee- 
ing to the cross of Christ for salvation through faith in his 
Name. 

Christ's disciples prayed him to increase their faith in 
him as God and in the lessons that he taught. They felt 
that they could not safely depend upon their own judg- 
ment or emotions to fix these essential truths in their 
souls. With us, as with them, this work must be per- 
formed by the Holy Ghost. For a weak belief nothing is 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 9 

more effectual than going with submissive prayer for in- 
creased grace to " the author and finisher of our faith." 

We have few better illustrations of the faith of Chris- 
tian professors than that recorded in the fourteenth chap- 
ter of Matthew's gospel, from the twenty-fifth verse to the 
thirty -fourth. There was the Lord, in the fourth watch 
of the long and toilsome night, walking majestically upon 
the stormy sea, after lonely hours of prayer. Here, in the 
fishers' boat, were Peter and the sons of Zebedee, tossed 
and hindered by the storm all night, waiting for the dawn, 
and striving to gain the shore where they expected to 
meet the Master on the morrow. Soon the} T beheld him 
approaching them, walking upon the troubled waters, and 
although they waited to welcome his return with loving 
hearts, they were frightened at this new manifestation of 
his divinity. But Peter, more impatient than the others, 
must have some further evidence of the Master's power, 
and craves an invitation to go and meet his Lord. His 
desire is granted, and he steps from the boat out upon the 
sea, and walks safely there. Thus far his faith has not fal- 
tered, but when the angry waves come sweeping along, 
threatening to engulf him, his confidence weakens, and 
poor human nature trembles. But the Lord is nigh to 
help, and Peter's faith assumes a iipw form. In his fear 
he does not turn back toward the boat, nor call to James 
and John to deliver him. A weaker disciple may, in his 
hour of trial, be tempted to return to the world which he 
has relinquished, for refuge and comfort. But Peter sim- 
ply stretched forth his hands toward the loving Jesus and 



10 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

cried, " Save, Lord, or I perish!" Was his prayer unan- 
swered, and he left to struggle in the overwhelming wat- 
ers ? No, he had not looked to human arms to rescue 
him, but in his extremity he trusted in God and found 
salvation. 

" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be 
saved," said Paul to the jailer at Philippi, and from all 
the New Testament that cry comes forth to every repent- 
ant sinner. 

" For God so loved the world that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." 



SCRIP AND STAFF. U 



CHAPTER III. 

THE REQUIREMENT OF ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 

One of the earliest steps toward holy living, after con- 
version, is to reconsecrate the entire being to the service 
of God. At first, to some souls, this may seem to be a 
heavy cross to bear, but in most cases, in the freshness of 
the new love to God and man born into the soul of the 
convert, it is a pleasure to lay down at the feet of the 
Saviour all that he is, and all that he has, and understand- 
ingly devote all — life, property and strength — to the cause 
of Christ. The blessing which follows such a consecra- 
tion more than repays the sacrifice, and bestows upon the 
consecrator the wealth of grace that makes his Christian 
life more enviable than that of an angel. 

Such a consecration comprises two great principles or 
motives : 

" None but Christ." None other to love, to worship, 
to honor and obey with all the heart, mind and strength ; 
none other to depend upon as a Saviour, help, guide and 
comforter ; none other to serve and follow with unflinch- 
ing integrity while life itself shall last, through health and 
sickness, prosperity and adversity. 



12 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

" All fo. Christ/' Yes, all; standing ever ready to 
devote all our time, talents, members, means, friends and 
self to the Redeemer's service, making the consecration so 
perfect that the convert shall be wholly his who has bought 
him with his own precious blood, who has adopted him 
into his heavenly family, and who has prepared for those 
who love him such glorious things as eye hath not seen, 
nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. 

Does it seem too much to yield ? It is in this com- 
plete consecration that we find our perfect spiritual peace 
— that peace which in degree and kind passes all human 
conception, which is the seal of our sanctification, and a 
foretaste of the glory that awaits the faithful in our Fa- 
ther's house beyond the grave. 

We may be sure that this entire consecration is our 
duty ; that if we do not have the grace to make it 
we cannot do so, and that God would never require it of 
us if he knew that we could not make it and maintain it 

by his help. 

It is a solemn act to make this consecration, but with- 
out it how can fallen man have that fellowship with 
Christ which every new-born soul desires ? Let us, then, 
esteem it a great privilege to make it, to keep all on the 
altar day by day, and expect and receive the blessing 
which it is sure to bring. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 13 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE GOOD SHEPHERD LOVETH HIS SHEEP. 

How thankful we all ought to be because our Saviour, in 
his list of beatitudes, gave place to the following : " Happy 
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heav 
en." And all through the New Testament we find this 
consoling sentiment pervading the teachings of Christ and 
his apostles, so that by it the humble Christian, conscious 
of his utter inability to keep himself from sin, is more 
fully led to rest in the strong arms and precious promises 
of his Good Shepherd, and look to him continually for the 
help and protection that he needs. 

One of the most beautiful of our Lord's parables is 
that which represents the hireling fleeing and forsaking his 
flock in the hour of danger, while the Good Shepherd, 
willing to lay down his life for his sheep, leads them to 
places of safety and peace. But then this was (and is) the 
character of Jesus — to stand by, encourage and protect 
his followers in every time of trial and danger. To the 
self-confident, the self-reliant, the boasters, he never comes 
in this manner. But the soul that trusts implicitly in 
him — the soul that seeks onfy to please God under all cir- 



14 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

cumstances, whatever the consequences may be, is stronger 
than the warrior in his armor, for God and all his holy 
angels are pledged, through the sufferings and death of 
our Redeemer, to defend the true Christian in time and 
eternity. Hence, human weakness has become strength 
through the all-prevailing might of our Lord and Master 
Said the apostle, in this light, " When ye are weak, then 
ye are strong; " and it is this glorious privilege of closely 
uniting the human and divine that makes us overcomers 
of the hosts of sin — of foes without and foes within — that 
takes away the fear of men and devils, and opens the doors 
of heaven to all believers. 

Oh, the tender compassion and loving-kindness of 
God ! Well might the psalmist exclaim that it is better 
than life itself, for it is able to raise the dead, renew the 
soul, and destroy sin ; and the gates of hell shall not pre- 
vail against it. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 15 



CHAPTER V. 

RELIGIOUS REVIVALS — WHY NECESSARY. 

To "revive" is to infuse new energy into a creature 
that has once lived and still lives, but in whom the life 
has become weak and spiritless. That which has never 
lived cannot be revived ; a stone, for instance, has no vital 
principle to be renewed — it is passive in its nature, and al- 
though it may undergo certain changes until it is no 
longer a stone, it can never become a sentient, responsible 
creature. On the other hand, a human being may become 
physically, mentally or spiritually exhausted until very 
little vitality remains ; but " while there is life there is 
hope " of health and normal vigor returning. If life is 
totally extinct, none but the resurrection power of God 
can restore the lost vitality. 

A natural life, in its full vigor, brings forth fruits to 
manifest its existence and energy, by benefiting others 
around it as well as by testifying to its own perfect con- 
dition. 

So Christians and churches in the enjoyment of full 
salvation, conscious purity, and the possession of that "per- 
fect love that casteth out fear," are in good condition to 



16 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

aid in the conversion of sinners, and perform those works 

of charity which the vital religion of Christ always 

prompts. 

But if, through a lack of watching and praying, through 

the influence of divers temptations, and a return to car. 
nalit} 7 , Christians and churches fall into a backslidden 
condition, so that faith, hope and charity have about died 
out, it is time that efforts should be made to infuse new 
life and religious fervor into them. 

Hence the need of revivals, from time to time, to draw 

Christians and churches nearer to God, and prepare them 
to labor for the conversion of sinners. 

But why may not — nay, why should not — all Christians 
and all Christian churches keep always fully saved of God, 
and so be ready to carry on a continuous work of salva- 
tion among the unconverted ? In other words, is there 
any necessity of real pilgrims losing their salvation, be- 
coming lean in soul, or of their churches waxing cold 
and formal in devotion ? In the order of God it is not so. 

Strange, suggests some one, that a true saint should 
ever need reviving spiritually, and especially a shepherd 

of saints. 

Well, it is strange, for in the economy of God's king- 
dom the language of the gospel is, " Rejoice in the Lord 
alway, and again I say rejoice." (Philippians iv. 4.) But 
if the peace and joy have died out of pilgrim hearts, how 
can they proclaim the "good tidings of great joy for all 
people ? " Then there must be a revival, or the church 
will only have "a name that thou livest and art dead." 
(Revelation iii. 1.) 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 17 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AND ITS EVIL INFLUENCES. 

The toper must have bis ardent spirits ; the smoker, 
his tobacco ; the pleasure-seeker, his amusements, and the 
average citizen his Sunday-newspaper. For in each of 
these cases the thirst for a stimulant overcomes any con- 
scientious scruples that may arise to warn the victim of 
the danger that lies within and follows after the indul- 
gence of the ruling desires of the flesh. It may seem a 
little strange to class the Sunday-newspaper reader with 
the toper, but even our reading may become intemperate 
and lead to a disobedience of God's laws. And this error 
is becoming so general, in the case of the Sunday -news- 
paper as to affect the moral and religious standards of so- 
ciety. The reading of the secular paper on Sunday, filled 
as it is with social and novel attractions, tends to keep 
people away from the services of G-od's house by consum- 
ing the time that should be employed in preparing for 
church, 03* deadening any latent devotional spirit which 
the recurrence of the Lord's day might naturally excite, 
and by taking the place of the forenoon sermon. It also 
tends to debase the mind to that degree that pleasure ex- 



18 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

cursions from home, Sunday concerts, and even theatrical 
performances, begin to assume a harmless character in pub- 
lic opinion; and it is not easy to dissociate the idea of 
Sunday -newspaper reading from any or all the other forms 
of Sabbath-breaking which now defile our land. 

The influence of the Sunday -newspaper is not confined 
to the precincts of the great cities where they are printed. 
Special railroad trains, another Sabbath-breaking institu- 
tion, scatter the Sunday -papers far and wide into the sub- 
urban and country villages, where the result is almost as 
deleterious as it is in the metropolis. Thus maii}^ men, 
women and boys, including local news-dealers, are brought 
into a violation of the Lord's holy day by the certainty 
of reaping a profit from the sale of the Sunday -paper. 

It may be true that the editors and printers of these 
papers are not obliged to work after a certain hour on 
Sunday morning, but still they debase the sacred Sabbath 
by their own early toil and subsequent slumbers as much 
as those who distribute the result of their Sunday-morn- 
ing labor. Attempts to excuse any one who is engaged 
in this disobedience to God's law must signally fail, for 
there is no apology that can annul the responsibility of 
any individual to keep the Sabbath holy. No plea that it 
is a necessary work to sell, or a lawful recreation to read, 
the Sunday-paper will be admitted at the bar of God. No 
redeeming trait attaches to its manufacture, sale or use, 
any more than to the production, traffic and consumption 
of ardent spirits. Custom cannot establish a lawful prece- 
dent in either case. The curse of God that follows all 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 19 

Sabbath-breaking will ultimately overtake both practices. 
" Happy is that people whose God is the Lord," for they 
are not the patrons of the Sunday -newspaper. 



CHAPTER VII. 

GOD REMOVES UNHOLY PREJUDICES — A PERSONAL 
EXPERIENCE. 

Several years after my conversion, A. S., an evangel- 
ist, whose revival labors in other places had been distin- 
guished for their power and success, came to Chicago. He 
was not ol our church connection, but strongly in harmo- 
ny with its leading doctrines, especially in that of entire 
sanctification, which he preached intelligently and urgent- 
ly. In Chicago he labored in several localities, and en- 
joyed the favor of many Christians, seemingly deserving 
it by his teachings and daily life. 

At one of our afternoon missions, one of the brethren 
came to me with the story of a great sin committed by 
A. S. with a woman, an attendant upon his meetings. I 
was shocked, but hardly prepared to believe the scandal- 
ous report, for A. S. and myself had been intimate friends 
for months, and I had many reasons for doubting its 
truth. Before I left the mission-meeting that afternoon, 
however, one of the good pilgrim sisters repeated the 
scandal to me in regretful words. 

I was pained, as well as shocked. The stoiy might be 



20 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

true, for who knew the weakness of mmanity, unre- 
strained by grace, better than I did ? — and the idea that 
A. S. had fallen was deeply impressed upon my mind. If 
true, the report had toppled him from a high place in rry 
estimation; if not true, and his character as a Christian 
could be vindicated, who would rejoice more heartily 
than myself? 

But I was cautious not to repeat the vile imputation 
of sin to any one. I should have gone to A. S. and told 
him what I had heard, in all kindness. This positive duty 
I neglected. So the scandal rankled in my bosom, with 
the natural effect of a half-belief in its truth, and a grow- 
ing dislike of the man. 

Months passed. I avoided A. S. If I met him in the 
street he always took me warmly by the hand > with a 
friendly greeting that I could not openly disdain. Still 
my lips were sealed concerning u the great transgression." 
If I ever mentioned him to other people, I merely said 
that I did not like him any more. It was strange how 
strongty my prejudice against him continued to increase. 
I could not bear to meet him anywhere. I did not hate 
him ; I simply desired to avoid him as one with whom I 
could no longer associate in harmony. Once he had been 
invited to preach in our church, and I fled from the house 
before he opened his lips, so painful had his presence be- 
come to me. I make no excuses for my conduct or feel- 
ings — I describe the experience as it was. 

I have said that I did not hate A. S. I believe that 
the least appeal to my sympathy or assistance in his be- 



SCRIF AND STAFF. 21 

half, at that or any other time, would have received a 
prompt response. ^Iad he done me, individually, a wrong, 
I could have freely forgiven him. I was only suffering 
from an intense mental prejudice, founded upon a possible 
diswu.edience of the laws of God, and which I had of my- 
self no power to dispel. I think now that I made this 
prejudice on one or two occasions a subject of prayer, but 
not, perhaps, so often as I should have done. 

After this sort ol experience had continued for some 
months, at a period when my mind had not been unusual- 
ly exercised over A. S., I Jaid me down to sleep one Sat- 
urday night, at peace with God and man. When I awoke 
on the following morning my thoughts turned toward A. 
S. To my great surprise and greater satisfaction, all my 
prejudice against him had been taken away during the 
night, and the old love and esteem for him as a Christian 
minister and friend had returned. How thankful I was 
that God had in this mysterious manner assured me of the 
innocence of A. S., and I greatly rejoiced over the divine 
vindication. That afternoon I sought A. S., and he then 
for the first time learned of the prejudice I had formed 
against him; to receive his forgiveness I had only to ask 
for it. 

The lesson was worth heeding. It warned me against 
listening to scandals concerning Christian people unless 
the evidence is overwhelming; and I hope it may warn 
others not to repeat scandalous stories unless they are 
prepared conclusively to prove them. 



22 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GOOD AND EVIL IN MEN THE BENEFIT OF SOUND 

CONVERSION. 

" Our lives are two-fold," wrote one of England's dis- 
tinguished poets; and unless we accept the doctrine of 
total and universal depravity of human nature, as set 
forth in the Bible, confessing with David, each one of us r 
" behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 
mother conceive me " (Psalm li., 5), it 'is not easy to de- 
termine the causes or the partition lines of these vital dis- 
tinctions. 

For instance, suppose a child is born, one of whose pa- 
rents is extremely pious, orderly and refined, while the 
other exhibits directly the opposite of all these character- 
istics. It is possible that the child may inherit many of 
the traits of both parents. In some cases the worst might 
be modified by the best; but it is possible that the posses- 
sion of the two sets of propensities, where neither neutral- 
izes the other, will cause the individual untold misery 
from the struggle that is constantly going on in the mind 
between these contrary peculiarities. The virtues of the 
mother (let us say) are constantly warring with the vices 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 23 

of the father for control of the mental and physical being, 
and as the child grows, his better nature may revolt at 
the grossness that he finds within himself. Happy is he 
who strives successfully to overcome the evil and main- 
tain the good qualities manifested in himself. 

The supposition, in this connection, that a man does 
not know when he is thinking, speaking or acting wicked- 
ly, is hardly probable (unless the wrong was done igno- 
rantly) ; for the conscience, that mysterious monitor of 
the soul, is prompt to inform him at the moment of his 
transgression. 

If the two natures are equally strong in the same per- 
son, the warfare between them becomes almost unbear- 
able, and in this, undoubtedly, lies the cause of certain 
suicides. If the father has been a habitual drunkard, and 
the mother a pure woman all her life, the son will look up- 
on drunkenness with disgust, should the mother-nature 
prevail in him, and vice versa. 

Depravity, in some form, is inherent in all persons to 
a greater or less degree, and the influence which it has, 
not only upon individuals, but upon society, must be met 
by a purer and stronger influence, or crime will be the re- 
sult. Hence reformatory measures of various kinds, with- 
out number, have been proposed, and failed because they 
originated in false theories, and were incompetent in prac- 
tice. On one point all good men seem to agree, that crime 
should be both restrained and punished. The strictest 
Christian cannot consistently object to this theory ; but 
most Christians believe that the pure religion of our Lord 



24 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

Jesus Christ is the only instrumentality whereby the en- 
tire inward man can be changed from evil to good in its 
aspirations and manner of living. Philanthropists and 
philosophers, of every shade, have advised other methods, 
but it is lamentable to contemplate how these theories 
have proved inefficient with the masses, while it is encour- 
aging to see the success with which individuals have risen 
from the lowest to a higher life. Personal conversion may 
therefore be more hopefully advocated than the wholesale 
reformation of a community by stringent laws, although 
wise legislation may effectually assist in weeding out evils 
that disgrace civilized society. 

The maintenance of evil habits lies, measurably, with 
individuals, because they are either indifferent as to the 
consequences of their courses, or are averse to the trouble 
of entering upon reform, preferring to submit to the con- 
trol of their grosser natures. The apostle Paul, in one of 
his epistles, describes his own condition before his conver- 
sion from Judaism to Christianity, for he says he found a 
law in his mind that he acknowledges to be good, but there 
was also an opposition in his members that would not 
yield to the mental requirement; but when he was thor- 
oughly consecrated and sanctified, as he undoubtedly was 
afterward, being imbued with the spirit of Christ, he had 
no trouble in keeping his body in subjection to his changed 
will. 



SCRIP AND STAFF 25 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE DIVINE SANCTION OF CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

Webster's Dictionary notes five definitions of the 
word " church,'' the first of which applies to the edifice in 
which Christian worship is publicly performed, and the 
last refers, generally, to " the aggregate of religious influ- 
ences in a community, ecclesiastical authority, etc." The 
other three explanations of the word are as follows: (1.) 
"A formally organized body of Christian believers wor- 
shiping together." (2.) "A body oi Christian believers, 
observing the same rights and acknowledging the same 
ecclesiastical authority," as the Methodist Church or oth- 
er denomination. (3.) " The collective body of Chris- 
tians, or of those who acknowledge Christ as the Saviour 
of mankind." 

Cruden's Concordance presents the following defini- 
tions of the word u church," with the scriptural authority 
therefor: (1.) U A religious assembly selected and called 
out of the world by the doctrine of the gospel, to worship 
the true God in Christ, according to his word ; 1 Corin-> 
thians i., 2, and Revelation ii., 7. (2.) All the elect of God 
of what nation soever, from the beginning to the end of 



26 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

the world, who make but one body, whereof Jesus Christ 
is the head; Colossians i. 18. (3.) The faithful of some 
one family, together with such Christians as were wont to 
assemble with them for solemn worship; Romans xvi., 5, 
Colossians iv., 15, and Philemon 2. (4.) The faithful of 
some one province; 2 Thessalonians i., 1, 4, 5. (5.) The 
governors or representatives of the church ; Matthew xviii., 
17 — that is to such rulers, to whom the censures of the 
church do of right belong, that by them it may be com- 
municated to the whole society. (6.) A multitude of 
people assembled together, whether good or bad; Acts 
xix., 37. (7.) The congregation of the Jews, which were 
formerly the people and church of God ; Acts vii., 38." 

Edward Eggleston defines the word thus: " Whenev- 
er two or more persons agree to help each other to serve 
God, they form a church." 

Jehovah organized the first church, by Moses, in the 
Wilderness of Sin, through whom, also, he proclaimed the 
code of laws governing the people, their modes of wor- 
ship, etc.; Exodus xix.-xxxi. ; also Leviticus i.-xxvii., 
and Deuteronomy i.-xxxiv. This church was reorganized 
at Jerusalem in the reign of King David, and perpetuated 
by King Solomon, under divine auspices; 1 Chronicles 
xv., xvi., and xvii., xxi., 28-30; xxii., xxiii., 24-32; 
xxiv., xxviii., 1-23; 2 Chronicles i.-viii. ; also in the days 
of Nehemiah and Ezra, to which books of the Old Testa- 
ment the reader is referred for particulars. 

At the time when God first organized his church in 
the wilderness, he was their only Ruler, Moses being his 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 27 

prime minister and Aaron his high-priest, so thai there 
was but one people and one God ; but after the people 
murmured against the theocracy and chose a king, how- 
ever much the temporal government was changed, the di- 
vine organization of the church remained intact; and it is 
noticeable that as long as the people maintained their re- 
ligious allegiance to God, no matter who was king, they 
were prosperous and protected, but when they turned 
away to worship idols, they soon fell into deep trouble. 
Yet God never wholly forsook them, notwithstanding 
their many rebellions against him. At the time of our 
Saviour's first coming, the temple worship, sadly degener- 
ated into a multitude of empty ceremonies, from which 
true praise and worship had almost disappeared, was still 
in existence, " having a form of godliness without its pow- 
er." The rejection of the promised Messiah, in the person 
of Jesus Christ, soon led to the destruction of the temple, 
and closed the Jewish dispensation with the wholesale 
slaughter of its adherents. 

The first church under the Christian dispensation was 
organized by the Saviour when he appointed his twelve 
apostles and personal companions after a night spent in 
prayer; Luke vi., 12-16; Mark vi., 6-14. And when 
the church thus founded had sufficiently increased, through 
conversions, he chose seventy others to present his relig- 
ion to the people; Luke x., 1-12. After his ascension, the 
church which he founded (during his three years' ministry 
in priest-ridden Jerusalem), numbered in that city about 
120 souls, besides devout Jews from every nation under 



28 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

heaven; Acts i., 15; ii,, 5. But after the pouring out of 
the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 converts 
were added to this number of our Lord's followers. 

Subsequent to this manifestation of divine power the 
church was wonderfully strengthened ; the disciples lost 
their fear of men and were fully inspired and fitted for a 
successful ministry. After they had preached the gospel 
for a brief season, the church was still further enlarged to 
such a degree that a more perfect organization became 
necessary ; Acts vi., 1. The church labor then required 
a more complete division, and seven deacons, or stewards, 
were chosen to look after the poor Christians and provide 
for their temporal comfort, while the apostles continued 
their preaching, relieved from this hindering care; Acts 
vi., 1-7. 

At this time the original eleven apostles, with Mat- 
thias, the successor of Judas Iscariot, constituted a board 
of bishops, having divine authority over the church. 
Then came Paul, the divinely chosen minister to the Gen- 
tiles, with Silas, both enjoying the personal friendship and 
protection of the Saviour; "and so mightily grew the 
word of God and prevailed." (Acts xix., 20.) And all this 
under the fiercest persecution of the unbelieving Jews. 
Indeed, it is generally admitted that before the close of 
the first century, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost 
and the faithful labors of the primitive church, the parting 
injunction of the Saviour to his disciples, to go into all 
that portion of the world known to be inhabited and 
preach the gospel to every creature, had been literally ful- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 29 

filled. So much for an organized church working for the 
salvation of souls under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. 

We say an organized church ; for in Paul's two letters 
to Timothy we find the great apostle of the Gentiles lay- 
ing down the rules that should govern, and the character- 
istics that should distinguish, godly ministers, bishops, 
elders and deacons as officers in the churches founded by 
the apostles, as well as the conduct of those over whom 
these officers were set. 

As if any other evidence were needed that God did 
always, and does now, sanction church organizations to 
glorify himself and perpetuate his worship in spirit and in 
truth, we may refer the reader, also, to the messages from 
Christ to the seven apostolic churches in Asia Minor, sent by 
his " beloved disciple " John, when the latter was an exile 
in the isle of Patmos. What love, what rebukes, what 
warnings, did the Saviour proclaim in these wonderful 
epistles! — such interest in their welfare, such desire for 
their excellence, as only he himself could manifest for his 
loved, yet faulty ones whom he had purchased with his 
own precious blood. 

Opposition is sometimes made to a specific religious 
creed by thoughtless and unbelieving persons. But the 
Christian religion is founded on obedience to God through 
faith in Christ and the enlightenment and sanctification of 
the Holy Ghost. That this faith should be concentrated 
and established upon a universal Christian creed, or un- 
changing statement of belief, is as reasonable as the adop- 
tion of any system of doing business. 



30 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

Out on this carping, fault-finding spirit of the present 
day that murmurs against the organization of the true fol- 
lowers of the blessed Jesus for their better government 
and the promotion of gospel truth ! Far better is it to 
lend a helping hand to these heaven-born churches and 
aid them in honoring God and bestowing comfort and 
peace in the Holy Ghost upon thousands of sin-sick souls. 

Said the Saviour, on one occasion : " Whoso shall re- 
ceive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But 
whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in 
me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged 
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of 
the sea." 

If such is God's love and respect for one disciple, how 
great must be the value, in his eyes, of all those thousands 
who gather from time to time in public assemblies as or- 
ganized worshipers to glorify his name. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 31 



CHAPTER X. 

THE LIBERTY WHEREWITH CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE. 

An ordinary class of persons, many of whom are per- 
haps members of popular churches, can see no freedom in 
the lives of holy men and women. 

They say : " You shut yourselves out from the world 
and the enjoyment that God has provided all around us. 
It was not always so. We remember when, like us, you 
shared in those enjoyments with the greatest zest. You 
could attend theatres, balls, concerts, and public celebra- 
tions, could wear rich clothing and jewelry, drink your 
social glass of ardent spirits, smoke your cigars, play cards 
and billiards, read novels, and fill up your time with a 
succession of pleasures that made life agreeable, and your- 
self one of the most genial companions in our social circle. 
Now you never take any pleasure in these things. You 
read only your Bible, and books and papers relating to it ; 
you are a slave to your prejudices against the enjoyments 
and the friends that you once loved, and you deny your- 
self even the commonest recreations of human nature. 
Where, then, is your boasted freedom ? You claim to be 
a free man in Christ Jesus, and tell us that whom the Son 
makes free, is free indeed. I cannot understand it." 



32 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

These objections are easily met. One word that you 
have used explains it all — re-creation — the re-creation of 
human nature. One whom we love and honor because of 
his great love for us has told us — "ye must be born 
again " — re-created in the mind and spirit, changed from 
sinfulness into righteousness by the blood of Jesus Christ. 
Is this another mystery to you ? Read the third chapter 
of John's gospel prayerfully, asking for the wisdom of the 
just, and in that light shall ye see light. In that light 
and new creation the evanescent pleasures of life lose their 
value and become as worthless as a bubble in the air. The 
soul, in its new-born freedom, rises heavenward. All its 
thoughts, aspirations, inclinations, dispositions and desires 
have undergone a change. That change has but one ob- 
ject — to obey God and live in submission to his will. 
New motives, new enjoyments, and freedom from earth- 
born cares and anxieties, are some of the characteristics of 
the new creation. Is the man any less a man, or has he 
lost a single natural faculty ? Not one. His constitutional 
traits remain, but are subdued and softened by God's 
graces, and his personal freedom is unabated. He is at 
liberty, so far as his bodily faculties are concerned, to go 
and come as he pleases ; to enter a saloon and call for drink ; 
he knows the mystery of card-playing as well as he ever 
did ; the theatre and the dancing hall are open to him as 
of old, and yet none of these things move him. They 
have lost their charm and influence over him. He can 
pass the saloon and pleasure-house without a regret. He 
knows their allurements, but he also knows their vanity 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 33 

and wickedness, and he turns from them with a sigh that 
others cannot see them as he now does. 

The maiden in her youthful home gathers around her 
gentle delights carefully suited to her single condition, 
but when her future husband comes to claim her for his 
bride she cheerfully lays aside the ties and enjoyments 
that have hitherto bound her to home and its surround- 
ings, and goes forth, hand in hand with her chosen one, to 
love, honor and obey him, and to be loved, cherished, sup- 
ported and comforted by him. So with the sincere Chris- 
tian. He is a portion of the trae church, the bride of 
Christ. All his thoughts and wishes are submissive to his 
Lord, and in the contemplation of his goodness, loving- 
kindness and purity, the past is buried out of sight, and 
the light and ecstacy of a new love takes possession of his 
soul. In this condition he enjoys the purest freedom. 
Casting all his cares, infirmities and mistakes upon the 
Lover of his soul, he walks with him in heavenly places 
that even the wealth, ambition and follies of the world 
cannot defile. In the word of his beloved Saviour he finds 
a great delight, but his bliss is greatest when he communes 
with Jesus in the privacy of his closet. " Being now made 
free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your 
fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." (Romans 
vi. 22.) Wherefore let us comfort one another with these 
words. 



34 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE FALLACIES AND WICKEDNESS OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM 
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 

For those who are not familiar with the revelations of 
the Bible on the subject, it is difficult to determine why 
that unnatural, or preternatural, infatuation known as 
" modern spiritualism " is indorsed and accepted by many 
persons who profess to be intelligent beings, and invested 
with an importance that it does not in reality possess; and 
it is surprising with what readiness its proselytes fall into 
its questionable practices. If, as claimed, the counterpart 
of modern spiritualism has been in the past an element of 
social and religious life, it certainly never had so many 
followers as in the quarter-century just closed, nor were its 
teachings ever before so widely revered. 

The " mission " of spiritualism, some three or four cen- 
turies ago, was to walk about o'nights and frighten not on- 
ly children and nervous women, but to arouse the fears 
and superstitions of stalwart men. People did not then 
make bosom friends ol disembodied spirits or demons, and 
gossip with them in a species of ecstatic delight. The an- 
cient ghost, too, was reticent, and always came either ta 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 35 

denounce or warn somebody. Neither, then, did people 
harbor the idea that ghost-lore was good authority for 
shipwrecking their Christian faith and rejecting the atone- 
ment of Christ, as they do now; much more frequently, 
indeed, did they bring the weapons of the gospel and the 
church to bear upon their spiritual visitors and put them, 
to flight. 

But now the ghosts (demons) have become so numer- 
ous that many households have one, and so amiable are 
they as to overcome the fears and doubts of the living 
who put their trust in them. Instead of endeavoring to 
frighten to death the unhappy "medium" of their com- 
munications with blood-curdling stories, they now con- 
verse sweetly, deal in aesthetic philosophy, and give ex- 
pression to weaker platitudes and stronger blasphemies 
than infidels in the flesh. And this is done in such a mys- 
terious, soothing manner as to induce the infatuated lis- 
tener to believe that they are talking common sense and 
religious truths. 

But it is a serious fact, susceptible of proof, that since 
the advent of the " Rochester knockings," in 1848, spirit- 
ual communications, even when purporting to come from 
the greatest and best of the departed spirits of earth, have 
been unworthy of the intellect or moral excellence that 
the individuals exhibited while in the body. Occasion- 
ally a spirit-given lesson may resemble the teachings of its 
alleged author while living, but it is usually a poor imita- 
tion of his style, and nothing else. 

Are we then to believe that a large proportion of mod- 



36 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

ern men and women, while quite as curious as the people 
of the olden time, are weaker in intellect, though living in 
an age of far greater intelligence ? If not, why do thou- 
sands believe that spiritualism is a source of wisdom, pro- 
gress and consolation, and that it can benefit those who 
suffer themselves to be ensnared by its fascinating illu- 
sions? That it should influence any one to seek a better 
religion than that of Jesus Christ and him crucified, evi- 
dences carnality, mental distortion and fatal unbelief in 
the seeker. 

By this time the reader has a right to ask, and perhaps 
a desire to know, why I entertain these opinions. My an- 
swer is, that several years ago, thinking there might 
be some hidden good in spiritualism, and having a curi- 
osity to learn more of it, I suffered myself to develop into 
a "medium" in nearly every phase of the delusion, ex- 
cept " trance-speaking," as it is called. From this imbe- 
cility I was happily free. At first I was a " writing me- 
dium," afterward progressing to " spirit-sight," " spirit- 
hearing," and "spirit-vocalization," conversing freely with 
my supernatural companions on all subjects of interest to 
me, being under their control, and unable to deliver my- 
self from the influence which they held over me ; nor was 

there any human help for me. But after a long season of 
prayer, at the end of about three months, through the 
grace of him who, when on earth, cast out devils and re- 
stored the fallen, I was, to my great joy, freed from these 
unpleasant spirit-influences, coming out of the ordeal like 
the tormented man in the tombs of Gadara, " clothed and 
in my right mind," and very sound in body. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 37 

I came out of spiritualism, also, with a new and deeper 
iaith. in the Bible as God's own blessed revelation to man- 
kind, a stronger belief in the divinity and atoning power 
of Christ, and a greater antipathy to sin — aye, a perfect 
horror of wickedness — than I had ever felt before. These 
benefits I still retain, and strive to cherish with jealous 
care. Why I was ever delivered from the bitterness of 
spiritualism by the power of God, and that alone, he only 
knows, unless it was that I might lift my voice in warn- 
ing to others not to be ensnared by its delusions ; and it is 
from a sense of gratitude to him and of duty to my fellow- 
creatures, that I here record my experience with this, one 
of the most subtle of Satan's devices to ruin souls, and 
my undying hostility to its power and teachings, and to 
all other doctrines that resist the spirit of Christianity. 

I oppose modern spiritualism : Because it is express- 
ly forbidden and denounced in the Bible, (where it is 
called " possessed of devils," " possessed of a spirit of 
divination," "having unclean spirits," etc.) under the 
titles of " doctrines of devils," " sorcery," " witchcraft," 
"familiar spirits," and others, in Isaiah viii., 19, 20; 
xlvii., 9, 12; xix., 3, 4; Leviticus xx., 6, 27; Deut. xviii., 
10, 11; 1 Samuel xv., 42; 1 Chron. x., 13. 14; 2 Chron. 
xxxiii., 6, 11 ; 2 Kings xxiii., 24; 2 Thess. ii., 9, 12; Gala- 
tians v., 26 ; Rev. xxi., 8. 

Because it opposes the truth of the Bible and reviles 
its teachings. 

Because it rejects the divine nature and mediatorial 

office of Jesus Christ. 
3 



38 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

Because it claims a probationary state after death. 

Because it misleads its devotees to say and do many 
silly things. 

Because no reliance can be placed on what the spirits 
say. 

Because its phenomena are unsatisfactory and useless, 
and because (with other reasons) Jesus and his apostles 
drove legions of evil spirits out of the " mediums " of 
iheir day, restoring them to sanity and health. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE SINNER'S POSITION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND BEFORE 

MEN. 

The committing of any known sin is the beginning of 
judgment. The consciousness of doing wrong is the first 
summons to the bar of God ; and it seems almost impossi- 
ble that any one should indulge in sin without knowing 
that he is transgressing, especially in these days when the 
light of God is streaming so vividly upon the earth. Such 
a human being is condemned already, for judgment is set 
ao-ainst him in his own conscience, and he is become a self- 
accuser. 

Added to the knowledge of his sinfulness before God 
is the torment experienced by the criminal in either fear- 
ing, or realizing, that some other person is aware of his 
transgression, and may at any time expose him to the 
authorities for punishment, or to the public for censure. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 39 

" But," objects some one, " many habitual sinners 
seem cheerful and unconcerned, and enjoy life, apparently, 
better than most pious people do." True, so it seems in 
frequent cases ; and many do undoubtedly " roll sin as a 
sweet morsel under the tongue," but it is to them like the 
little book that the Apostle John ate in his glorious vision 
in the Isle of Patmos : "It was in my mouth sweet as 
honey, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." 
(Revelation x., 10.) It is folly to say that sinners do not 
" enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," for the apostle 
(Heb. xi., 25,) plainly intimates that they do. Notice 
the case of David and Bathsheba. But when Nathan, the 
godly accuser, came, David felt that his sin would over- % 
whelm and ruin him, and in great anguish he humbled 
himself before God ; 2 Samuel xii. 

Deep in the soul of every sinner, often smothered by 
continuous days and nights of dissipation, lies the o-erm 
of remorse, which, when the Spirit of God breathes upon 
it, begins to grow and spread its roots of bitterness 
through all the life of the man, and he either cries for mer- 
cy or seeks forgetfulness in self-murder. No relief, how- 
ever, can be found in suicide, for after death comes the 
final judgment, from which there is no appeal, and meixrv 
is forever cut off. Happy is he who, being convicted of 
sin by his conscience, flees to Jesus, the only Saviour, 
seeking pardon and peace for his soul. 

A distinguished writer upon divinity says that God 
sends no one to hell, meaning thereby that the sinner is 
self-condemned, and that the last judgment will only con- 



40 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

firm the sentence which conscience has already pronounced 
against him here. 

Let no one think that sin can be a secret thing. The 
crimes that men commit are known to the All-seeing God, 
and there is reason for believing that Satan and other evil 
spirits know of them and fiendishly anticipate the sinner's 
future shame and misery. A friend once dreamed that he 
had committed an offence against God, as he thought, se- 
cretly, but while in the act he discovered a person watch- 
ing him. " Oh," said he, u the torment of that moment! I 
felt not only keen remorse, but the dreadful bondage in 
which this witness held me. My character and all my fu- 
ture peace were in his keeping. If he chose he could ruin 
me by exposure, and I was helpless in his power." For- 
tunately he awoke very soon, happy and thankful that it 
was only a dream, praying with the psalmist, " Cleanse 
thou me from secret faults." (Psalm xix., 12.) From 
the terrible reality of such dreams may God ever keep 
us all! 

Thus we see that judgment begins in this life, in the 
awakening of conscience, the anguish of remorse, the accu- 
sations of men, and the punishment of crime by human 
laws. Unless true repentance and salvation come in time, 
death will inevitably bring the sinner to the judgment-seat 
of God, without a hope of reprieve ; and then, self-con- 
demned, he must take up his everlasting abode with fiends, 
never again to be free for a single moment from the deep- 
est misery. See Matthew xxv., 30-46. 

But if, on the other hand, conscience leads the sinner 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 41 

to a sincere repentance, earnestly seeking mercy for his 
past wickedness, accepting the free pardon of God as a 
priceless gift from the Lord Jesus Christ, and living after- 
ward in newness of life, the law of God will lose all its 
terrors ; there is no more condemnation if he lives after 
the teachings of the Spirit and not after those of the flesh 
(Romans viii., 1), and he looks forward to the final judg- 
ment as his coronation day, when his Saviour shall place 
upon his head a crown of everlasting life and invest him 
with an eternal weight of glory. Let us each be wise in 
time. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HEAVEN AND HELL UNSCRIPTURAL DOCTRINES. 

Apparently the first effort of a soul which is seeking 
to stifle its convictions of sin, instead of striving for a full 
and gracious pardon from its offended Maker, is to ignore 
the existence of hell as a place of future punishment for 
the wicked, and to attack the doctrine of the eternal mis- 
ery of unrepentant sinners. To-do this the convicted soul 
must cast away, or misconstrue (often against light), the 
commonly accepted revelation of God, rejecting the fact of 
the Almighty's justice, giving him credit for an indiscrim- 
inate mercy which he does not claim (Exodus xxxiv., 4-8), 
and perverting the ordinary meaning of the words " eter- 
nal" and "everlasting" into something of less duration. 
We never find these men objecting to the doctrine of an 



42 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

everlasting heaven on grounds similar to those on which 
they found their arguments against the everlasting punish- 
ment of sinners. And yet, in view of the great and unde- 
niable divfsion of mankind into good and evil beings, with 
the privilege of choosing for themselves which they will 
be, it must be soundly logical to assert that one portion 
of our race shall be forever happy, and the other forever 
miserable, or else the reasoning of the philosophers in fa- 
vor of virtuous lives loses much of its importance. As 
well might we expect to find two parallel lines crossing 
each other, as to conceive any union of good and evil, in 
their being or effect, here or hereafter. Let modern philos- 
ophers be as honest as xEsop, and they will be safer as theo- 
logians. 

The better philosophy of the Christian religion ac- 
knowledges the existence of an eternal hell, and then helps 
men to avoid it; for it is a fact which no skeptic can refute, 
that with a knowledge of the Bible (as representing God's 
will toward mankind), and the enlightening influence of 
the Holy Ghost to help us, no human being need go to 
hell, or fear any other painful result of God's justice. The 
Lord's will is to keep every one of us from final destruc- 
tion by leading us to forsake those things that will surely 
cast us into it. He can never love evil, nor suffer his ho- 
liness to mingle with it. Consequently men full of sin 
cannot go and dwell in his presence in heaven, even if 
they would. It would be a place of torment to them, for 
in its clear and holy light their sense of guiltiness would 
overwhelm them. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 43 

Our choice lies between heaven and hell for our ever- 
lasting abiding place. Onl} T holiness can dwell in the 
first, while sinners are by their natural depravity and 
wicked lives prepared to inhabit the other ; for kt if the 
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and 
the ungodly be found ? " But the regenerate soul no more 
fears hell than men in their senses fear the fiery furnaces 
in our manufactories. The} T know that if they leap into 
them they will perish; if the} 7 keep away from them they 
receive no harm. On the contrary, the soul in its natural 
state is in the condition of an insane man, whr< dances 
heedlessly upon the edge of one of these furnaces until he 
is overcome by its vapors, and is drawn helplessly into it. 

The men who do not believe in a hell are those who do 
not believe the Bible. Nowhere else is hell so plainly re- 
vealed as in the hoi} 7 scriptures. Nowhere else is heaven 
so truthfully described. Nowhere else can men so uner- 
ringly learn the paths that lead to each of these abodes. 
To reject the doctrine of a hell is to reject God; to reject 
God is to be shut out of heaven forever. 



44 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL ITS GOOD WORK AND BEST GOV- 
ERNMENT. 

Whether we call it a Sunday-school or a Sabbath- 
school may seem an unimportant question, but it is hardly 
correct to designate a school that is taught on the first day 
of the week by a name that indicates its operations on the 
seventh. " Names are nothing," it is said, but there is 
truth and fitness in calling it a Sunday-school. 

The remarkable increase and improvement of the Sun- 
day-school work in this country during the last century 
is cheering to every Christian heart. It has also given 
rise to numerous theories and experiments concerning the 
most effectual manner in which these schools should be 
conducted. Without doubt, these efforts have had their 
origin in a sincere desire to do good in the most excellent 
way; but it has required the exercise of patience, and 
much skill, to harmonize the ideas of the many and 
unite upon the most practical and useful methods of in- 
struction. 

Children must be attracted to the school and interest- 
ed in its duties, as well as instructed while there. Teachers 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 45 

ought to be fond of children by nature, possessing intelli- 
gence spiritually, with a knowledge of Bible truths and 
history, and a fair share of common sense and secular 
learning. If they are also meek and loving followers of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be better able to appre- 
ciate and work for the results to which all Sunday teach- 
ing should tend — the engrafting of the tender branches 
upon the true Vine. 

We may well doubt the advantage to be gained by en- 
cumbering our work with the arbitrary rules which govern 
every-day schools. Strict discipline may be necessary 
under certain circumstances ; but the Sunday-school work 
is purely a labor of love, and the officers or teachers who 
are unable to control their own spirits or the little ones 
intrusted to their care without resorting, habitually, to 
harshness, are not fitted for their positions. 

Love and gentleness, a blindness to the little faults of 
the scholars, with earnestness and simplicity of thought 
and language, and an humble reliance upon God's Holy 
Spirit for guidance, will go farther to win hearts for teach- 
ers, and souls lor Christ, than all the efforts of those who 
depend for their success upon austere regulations. If we 
make the school attractive by our own cheerfulness and 
patience, by affection and kindness, by songs of praise, by 
earnest and plain prayers which the youngest may under- 
stand, it will be a pleasure for children to come regularly 
and participate in the exercises. 

The Sunday -school should really be the children's own 
church — how few care to attend any other ! — the vestibule 



4b SCRIP AND STAFF. 

by which they may enter into the courts of the adult 
church of Christ. Loved for its own sake, and for the 
spiritual and innocent attractions with which it may be in- 
vested, it will need no expensive libraries of fictitious sto- 
ries, or costly " rewards of merit." A scholar may be so 
interested for an hour in the actual operations of the 
school, and the spirit manifested in its machinery, as to be- 
come indifferent to the other attractions of a doubtful 
character that are sometimes brought into requisition to 
increase the interest and attendance. We would not, how- 
ever, oppose the introduction and regular distribution of 
some of the many excellent Sunday-school papers, adapted 
to the capacities of all scholars, which may be so cheaply 
supplied every Sunday. The ordinary contributions of 
the school from week to week are generally sufficient, with- 
out much urging, to obtain them. They inspire the young 
with a desire to read, and may lead them to pursue more 
important studies, besides inculcating moral and religious 
sentiments that, with the heavenly blessing, will never be 
obliterated from their memories, and may serve to draw 
other and older hearts to the Saviour. 

We would have the opening exercises of the school of 
such a character that children of all ages may enjoy them, 
and be taught thereby to pray and sing intelligently, and 
in the spirit of true devotion and praise. Then we would 
suggest that the lesson of the day be brought within the 
scope of the scholars' intellects in a manner to enlarge 
their understanding and increase their knowledge. Then 
we would have the application of its spiritual truths made 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 47 

brief, cautionary, tender and earnest, as Christ taught 
We know that it requires study and labor, and, per- 
haps, experience on the part of the teacher, to accomplish 
all this; but it is God's work, and we believe that all 
teachers in Sunday-schools should let their interest in it 
find expression in sincere prayer, daily, for the renewal 
of their own spiritual strength and the salvation of the 
souls entrusted to their care. 

In some schools, undoubtedly, it is difficult to obtain 
efficient teachers. With all the care and energy dis- 
played by our superintendents there is almost always a 
vacancy to be supplied, either temporarily or permanent- 
ly, and the demand often exceeds the supply. It is not 
because there are no competent persons in the churches 
whose duty it is to volunteer as teachers, but too fre- 
quently there is a calm indifference, and sometimes an un- 
due diffiderjce, either of which dispositions may prevent 
able men and women from offering their services. This is 
not as it should be, and it is a little remarkable that intel- 
ligent and pious people will suffer any light impediment 
to keep them (circumstances permitting) from engaging" 
in this pleasing and momentous work. 

Sunday-school teachers know, from experience, what 
are the requirements and sum of their Sunday work. They 
know that it demands a large amount of self-denial, punc- 
tuality, zeal and application, not to say a total consecra- 
tion of themselves to God. It also requires that they 
shall elevate the minds of the children from their ever} 7 - 
day existence to a contemplation of holy things; show 



48 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

them the sacred origin, purpose and character of the scrip- 
tures ; convince them of the abounding sinfulness of un- 
converted human beings, and their consequent separation 
from the love and blessing of God, with the certainty of 
punishment, here or hereafter, if they disobey his laws; 
reveal the story of the cross of Christ — that " old, old 
story," ever new — as their only means of regaining the 
favor of God ; teach them his goodness and the rich re- 
sults which will flow to them through their reconciliation 
to him and their desire for his glory manifested in obedi- 
ent lives ; urge them to seek for a closer union and peace 
with him by praying for the continual favor and media- 
tion of the Saviour, who, in his human form and priestly 
office, is sitting at the right hand of his Father to turn 
aside deserved judgments and bestow upon them help and 
comfort here., with the hope of a joyous and eternal exist- 
ence beyond the grave. 

There will be times when the teachers' work will seem 
to them tedious and unprofitable ; but if they are faithful 
the result rests in the hand of God ; only the responsibil- 
ity of doing and praying is theirs. The darkest day be- 
fore their classes may be bringing light and peace to their 
own souls. Let them "strive to enter in at the strait 
gate" themselves, and endeavor to lead their scholars 
with them. Then the}?- will have done their duty. 

Returning to the practical government of the Sunday- 
school, and taking the ground that "order is heaven's first 
great law," and that any school must suffer in proportion 
as that law is disregarded, the necessity of a knowledge 



SCRIP AND STAFF 49 

of whatever appertains to such an institution becomes ap- 
parent. It is true that Sunday-schools ma}'- be made 
prosperous and useful, spiritually, even though no sort 
of a record is kept of their routine proceedings , but as a 
part of the church's work the school derives stabilit}^ from 
the character of the facts and figures that mark its weekly 
progress. 

The information concerning a school that will most in- 
terest those connected with it and the church to which it 
belongs, relates to the number, regularity of attendance 
and punctuality of the scholars ; the number, names and 
attendance of the officers and teachers ; the facilities for 
study which it possesses ; its ability to sustain itself b} r 
the voluntaiy offerings of those who attend it ; the help 
that it is enabled to bestow on other Sunday-schools and 
missionary enterprises; the methods used to keep the 
classes continually filled; the dates ot the admission and 
departure of scholars, teachers and officers, with their re- 
spective places of residence ; the hour of opening the school 
and the length of its session ; the number of minutes de- 
voted to an examination of each lesson ; the character of 
the other exercises, such as praying, singing, etc., and by 
whom conducted; the size and value of its library, if there 
is one; the number of Sunday-school periodicals and les- 
son-papers distributed, and how often; the amount of each 
Sunday's contributions, and for what purposes they were 
expended, and, finally, the number and names of those con- 
nected with the school who have been converted and unit- 
ed with the church. 



50 SCRIP xVND STAFF. 

With these things, and such other matters as may be 
suggested from time to time, the managers of the school 
should be familiar. If the superintendent and his assist- 
ant cannot, when required, furnish all the information set 
down in the foregoing summary, the secretary and treas- 
urer should be able to answer correctly as to the rest. In 
large schools, especially, these things should be made mat- 
ters of record rather than of tradition. 

Almost every school has a method of its own for keep- 
ing its records. There is, however, a close similarity in 
their various reports. Printed class-books and record- 
books can be readily obtained at most of the religious 
bookstores for a small sum, or an intelligent secretar}^ can 
easily manufacture one to suit his purpose out of a quire 
of letter-paper. The teachers are capable of rendering im- 
portant assistance to the secretary by imparting to him 
definite information every Sunday, such as the names and 
residences of new scholars ; the transfer of scholars from 
class to class ; the removal of any from the school or neigh- 
borhood ; the death of teachers or scholars, etc. ; and this, 
as a rule of the school, should be rigidly enforced. The 
superintendent, also, is expected to announce to the school 
any important changes or other information. All scholars 
over six years old should be encouraged to seek out and 
bring in new scholars, and to report to the secretary any- 
thing that they may deem interesting to the school. In 
this personal confidence he would become better acquaint- 
ed with them, and his records might be kept more per- 
fectly. Teachers sometimes neglect to report in detail. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 51 

The use of keeping these records is found in their ex- 
hibition of the business and progress of the school from 
week to week and from year to year; to show who belong- 
to it, and what they are doing to aid in establishing the 
kingdom of heaven upon earth. 



CHAPTER XV. 

SPIRITUAL POVERTY TYPIFIED BY THE HISTORY OF THE 

JEWS. 

The symbolism of the Bible is by no means its least 
remarkable feature. In the dealings of God with his cho- 
sen people, the Jews, in their obedience and disobedience, 
and with his enemies and theirs, have been handed down 
to us some of the truest and most noteworthy parallels 
of his mercies toward the disciples of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and his judgments declared against his opposers. 

Among the symbolic incidents and events of the past, 
foreshadowing certain circumstances and conditions in the 
church of these latter clays, are those connected with the 
history of the ark of the covenant. This sacred chest, or 
divine treasury, was planned by God himself (Exodus 
xxv., 10-22), and built under his direction as a standing 
memorial of his goodness and mercy to Israel. So grand- 
ly did he hallow it that whenever the tabernacle rested 
its place was in the holy of holies, and such guards and 
protections were thrown around it while going from place 
to place that its sacredness could not be willfully profaned 



52 • SCRIP AND STAFF. „ 

without bringing the severest punishment upon the offender. 

In our version of the scriptures we are indebted to St. 
Paul (Hebrews ix., 4) for a description of the contents of 
this sacred treasury. The golden pot of manna signified 
the remembrance of God's preserving care, the incentive 
to a lively gratitude on the part of his people ; Aaron's rod 
that budded shadowed forth Israel's prosperity so long as 
they obeyed Jehovah, and the two tables of the law were 
the rule of life for all who trusted in him ; while the golden 
censer, not in the ark, but waved before it, manifested 
the chosen incense, typifying that more acceptable in- 
cense of praise that goes up to God from every loving, 
obedient heart. 

We need not trace out in detail the vicissitudes through 
which the ark of the covenant passed ; its unhallowed trans- 
ition from the tabernacle to the battlefield ; its capture by 
the Philistines; the evils that'it brought upon them; their 
willingness to return it to Israel ; its attempted removal to 
Jerusalem by King David ; its fatal profanation by Uzzah ; 
the blessings that it brought to the house of Obededom ; 
its removal to David's tabernacle, and its final placing in 
Solomon's temple. 

Turning now to 1 Kings viii., 5-9, we find that at this 
latter date, " there was nothing in the ark save the two ta- 
bles of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the 
Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel." 

Following out the typical illustration of the ark and its 
contents, we are led to observe (1) the times of Israel's 
prosperity, thanksgiving and piety as manifested in the 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 53 

golden censer, the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod 
that budded; and (2) the miserable condition of Israel at 
the first coming of our Saviour, typified by the condition 
of the ark when Solomon deposited it in his holy of holies. 
Then the prosperit} 7 of Israel had faded away, and its neck 
was under the foot of the Roman empire ; the praise and 
thanksgiving 1 had died out of its heart and was not found 
upon its tongue, and there was nothing left except the 
cold, hard tables of the law, a formal obedience, devoid 
alike of life and pious devotion. In vain the Son of God, 
the promised Saviour, came to offer the Jews spiritual 
freedom and restoration by the substitution of the glorious 
covenant of grace for the galling yoke under which the 
law was holding them in hopeless bondage. In vain he 
came to proclaim liberty to the captive, to bind up the 
broken-hearted, and to preach good tidings to the meek. 
On every hand he was rejected, despised, forsaken and 
persecuted, and he left them to bear the rigor of the law 
when he sent his messengers to destroy them in the bloody 
siege of Jerusalem. 

Coming down to our own age, at a time when the faith- 
ful followers of the risen Lord are again watching and wait- 
ing for his glorious appearing to execute the direst judg- 
ment upon his enemies, it may be well to examine the 
contents of our ark of the covenant ; to see if the world 
with its pleasures and vices has not robbed the Christian 
church on earth of its golden censer, its pot of manna, and 
its budding rod, and has left it nothing but the two tables 
of the law and a fearful looking for of judgment when the 



54 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

Lord shall come. Shall he find faith in the earth any 
more than he did in Israel at his first coming? Shall he 
find submission, praise, thankfulness, love, zeal and joyous 
obedience in the hearts of his professed followers ; or will 
the tares have so invaded his church on earth that the 
wheat shall have all withered away ? 

Thank God, he has a few names in other places besides 
Sardis which have not defiled their garments, and they 
shall walk with him in white, for they are worthy. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE STABILITY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION CONSIDERED. 

The question is sometimes suggested to intelligent 
but unsanctioned minds, in view of the great prevalence of 
vice in society, and even in the churches, whether the 
Christian religion is not a failure. The answer is very 
plain, and may be easily understood by all. 

Christianity, in theory and practice, can only be a 
failure so far as men individually are concerned. It offers 
a full and complete salvation for every person in the world 
and can only fall short of its object when any one refuses 
to accept it. Let no one say that its requirements are 
either too rigorous or too simple, (and both of these 
charges have been brought against it;) for those who em- 
brace it find it neither too hard nor too easy if they are 
in earnest and determined to be Christians through life 
and in death. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 55 

God has done all that he can to save sinners — all that 
his justice or mercy suggests. He requires nothing that 
his followers cannot perform. It is true that the covenant 
is strict in its terms, yet love formed it, and love will not 
only carry out God's part of it, but will help those who 
accept it to accomplish their duties, even to the very end, 
through every command, every trial, temptation and af- 
fliction — through prosperity and adversity. 

Such is God's right to all our praise and worship, so 
great his power and goodness, so dependent are we upon 
him, that he may justly dem ind of us a strict obedience; 
and so he has made many great and precious promises to 
encourage us, and has also provided a certain way in 
which we may love, honor and obey him in every vicissitude 
of life. Fail he cannot, and fail we ought not, for every fail- 
ure to serve him only makes bad worse and evil judg- 
ments surer. The Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, 
and the life, and we may walk with him every day in new- 
ness of life and evermore rejoicing, because, if we desire 
it, he will abide with us here on earth and we with him 
here and hereafter, former. 



56 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

BIBLE HOLINESS THE REQUIREMENTS OF G01)'s LAW CON- 
CERNING IT. 

. The ten commandments (Exodus xx., 1-17) were 
written by the finger of God upon tables of stone and de- 
livered to the people of Israel for the government of man- 
kind, and to be obeyed. They have never been repealed 
or annulled, and are quite as much in force to-day as when 
they were first published. All moral and religious per- 
sons recognize their excellence and necessity. Our Saviour 
said he came not to destroy the law, and no man has ever 
dared, when governments for civilized people were being 
formed, to blot them out ; so that the spirit of them has 
yet a place in the laws of nations. 

As surely, too, as these commandments were spoken 
by the God of Israel and retain their controlling power, 
so must we consider these passages from God's law as 
still binding upon mankind : " For I am the Lord your 
God ; ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall 
be holy." (Leviticus xi., 44, 45;xx., 7, 8.) So Christ 
prayed for his followers : " Sanctify them through thy 
truth. . . . And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 57 

they also might be [truly] sanctified through the truth." 
(John xvii., 17, 19, and marginal reading.) 

Holiness, or sanctification, is believed to be perfection 
in religion. So our Saviour commanded his people: "Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heav- 
en is perfect." (Matthew v., 48.) 

Notice the high standard of this perfection, God him- 
self being the example or pattern of holiness : " Ye shall 
be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Leviticus 
xix., 2.) No one can dispute the perfect holiness of God, 
the source of all Christian graces. So Peter wrote to the 
Christian strangers, (1 Peter i., 15, 16:) "As he which 
hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of 
conversation. Because it is written, Be ye holy ; for I am 
holy." No one can doubt the perfect holiness of Christ, the 
best Friend and Saviour of men : " For whom he [God] 
did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to 
the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born" — or 
the pattern — " among many brethren." (Romans viii., 29.) 
Speaking of Jesus, John wrote in his First Epistle, ii., 6 : 
"Hethatsaith he abideth in him ought himself also to 
walk even as he walked" — that is, in holiness. Again: 
" For such a high priest " (as Christ) " became us, who is 
holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made 
higher than the heavens." (Hebrews viii., 26.) " For even 
hereunto were ye called j because Christ also suffered for 
us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps ; 
who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." 
(1 Peter ii., 21, 22.) 



58 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

Here, then, we have the scriptural warrant for holiness. 
1. The command to be holy. 2. The desire of Jesus that 
his disciples should be. sanctified (separate, or set apart, 
from sin), and his prayers that they may be made holy. 
3. The standards of Christian perfection found in God the 
Father, and his well-beloved Son. 4. The example of 
Christ on earth. 

Are the standards too high for human attainment? 
" With men this is impossible ; but with God all thirgs 
are possible." (Matthew xix., 2G.) "If we walk in ihe 
light as he [God] is in the light " — the light of revealed 
truth — "we have fellowship one with another, and the 
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 
It is God's work, not ours. 

Let us now examine the methods of seeking and ob- 
taining this perfection of Christian character : It is a work 
of the Holy Spirit. (John xvi., 7-15, and Acts i., 1-8, and 
ii., 38-39.) The word of God aids in the work, (2 Tim- 
othy iii., 1G, 17.) It is a manifestation of God's grace. 
(Titus ii., 11-14.) Man's part in the work of obtaining 
Christian perfection is described in Romans vi., 1-7, 12- 
14, and 22; and viii., 1-17. Also in 2 Corinthians vi., 14 
-18; and vii., 1. 

The effect of this perfection of Christian character is to 
make regenerated men so like God that the}' come to love 
whatever he loves, insluding all created beings, and to hate 
nothing but sin, for that is the only thing in all his great 
universe that God seems to hate. In nothing else does 
he so require us to resemble him as in these particulars, 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 59 

and in nothing else can we so nearly approach his perfec- 
tion. When men and women are in this condition, his 
mercy and goodness can be reflected in their lives, and his 
grace can better perform its perfect work in them, in cross- 
bearing, patience and submission to his holy will. This 
is the fulfillment — " Love is the fulfilling of the law " — 
the spirit of the Saviour's command to be " perfect, even 
as your Father in heaven is perfect." " Be ye therefore 
followers of God, as dear children, and walk in love as 
Christ also hath loved us." (Ephesians v., 1,2.) " Walk 

as children of light proving what is acceptable unto 

the Lord," (verses 8, 10.) "The fruit of the Spirit is 
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
meekness, temperance ; against such there is no law. And 
they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the af- 
fections " (or passions) " and lusts. If we live in the 
Spirit, let us also ivalk in the Spirit." (G-alatians v., 22- 
25.) 

The subject is a prolific one; but these proof-texts 
may help some soul to seek that " holiness without which 
no man shall see the Lord." Clean hearts and right spir- 
its are what Christians need, and they are the heritage 
of all who will earnestly seek for them in God's appointed 
way. 



60 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

OBEDIENCE THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN THE NATURE OF 

TRUE OBEDIENCE. 

The vision of Jacob's ladder, reaching from earth to 
heaven, (Genesis xxviii., 10-16), with the angels ascend- 
ing and descending upon it, suggests the possibility of 
communication between God and man, and the ministry 
of angels in obedience to the divine will. 

The theme opens the way for a few instructive reflec- 
tions upon the prevailing idea, and meditations upon the 
methods by which we, too, as by a ladder, may rise from 
sin and death to heaven, purity and eternal life. 

Standing in our " lot," or that station of life in which 
it has pleased God to place us as individuals, we may 
contemplate the position which each of us occupies to- 
ward God. If we have not yet been converted, we have 
not attained the first round of the spiritual ladder that 
lifts men above the world and leads them up to the realms 
of the blest. A glimpse of the glory of heaven is granted 
to us ; we desire to reach that beautiful home ; and we be- 
gin to climb the ladder. 

The first step to be taken is repentance for past offences 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 61 

against God and man. We are now upon the first round 
of our Jacob's ladder. By faith in Jesus Christ as our 
Saviour, we mount the next step heavenward, and obtain 
forgiveness of sin. After that, we receive the help of the 
Holy Spirit, and our ascent progresses through all the 
graces of obedience to God, devotion and prayer, love to 
God and man, hope that maketh not ashamed ; upward and 
onward in the apostolic excellencies of virtue, knowledge, 
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and 
benevolence, and the fruits of the Spirit, such as meekness, 
goodness, gentleness, long-suffering, peace and joy, ending 
in eternal purity and the glory of the heavenly mansions 
purchased for us by the precious blood of Jesus, which he 
has gone to prepare for those who love him. 

All these graces and virtues by which we thus ascend 
to heaven are but continuations of the fifth round of the 
ladder — obedience to God, without which all our progress 
heavenward must fail. It is the one great virtue to be 
secured ; it rests upon our faith in Christ ; it paves the 
way to all other spiritual gifts, and is the surest passport 
to God's favor here and hereafter. 

" Looking unto Jesus " as " the author and finisher of 
our faith," trusting in him as our Saviour and our strength, 
casting no " longing, lingering look behind," as Lot's wife 
did toward the Sodom she had left, we may go boldly for- 
ward in our pilgrimage to a better world. If we travel 
patiently up these rounds of the ladder, sustained as they 
are on either hand by the mercy of God our Father, and 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot fail. As we 



€2 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

progress from day to day, having the presence and the ex- 
ample of the angels of God to encourage us, we shall learn 
new lessons of self-denial and obedience ; and we cannot 
fall, however great the height we gain, if we cling to the 
Jadder, for the everlasting and almighty arms of divine 
love are under us for our protection. No matter how 
darkly the clouds of temptation and tribulation ma3 r gath- 
er before us to obscure our desired haven from our view, 
we may still go onward, walking not by sight but b} r faith, 
and in the joy of a perfect obedience. 

Obedience to the will and commandments of God is 
the spirit of the Christian religion. Men may perform the 
most solemn ceremonies of devotion in private or in public 
assemblages, may outwardly manifest a disposition to 
serve God, and yet live in constant disobedience toward 
him. Call to mind the case of Saul, the king of Israel, 
who was sent by the divine command to destroy ihe 
Amalekites and all their possessions, and yet brought home 
with him droves of oxen and flocks of sheep which he had 
captured from his enemies. To the rebuke of the prophet 
Samuel for thus disobeying God, Saul replied that he had 
saved these animals to be offered in sacrifice by the Israel- 
ites ; and it was then that Samuel gave utterance to this 
significant sentence : u Hath the Lord as great delight in 
burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of 
the Lord ? Behold, to obe} 7 is better than sacrifice, and 
to hearken than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel xv., 22.) 

The conversion of a soul from sin is clearly shown by 
a change in the life of the individual, and by a desire to 



SCRIP AND STAFF- 63 

do the whole will of God, whatever may be the conse- 
quences to business or personal comfort. Selfishness and 
self-will are taken away. God is to be henceforth obeyed, 
and the heart, the mind, and the body, are all to be 
brought into subjection to this one principle, this one de- 
sire. 

Obedience is submission to the ruling power, whether 
it be good or evil. If the heart is right toward God, the 
tendency will be to obey his word, rather than the prompt- 
ings of Satan or wicked men, and the life will be shaped 
accordingly. If the evil influences are the most potent, 
or the individual is in harmony with them, there can be 
no reform until the heart is regenerated, and the evil pro- 
pensities are removed. 

The example of Christ in respect to his submission and 
consequent obedience is shown to us in various portions 
of the New Testament, but nowhere so forcibly as during 
his agony in the garden of Gethsemane, when he uttered 
that memorable prayer, " Not my will, but thine, be 
done." 

Obedience takes two forms — the voluntary, like that 
of Christ and his true followers — and the involuntary, like 
that which leads the robber or murderer to respect the 
laws of the land lest he be imprisoned or hanged if he vi- 
olates them. The first sort performs every duty, and re- 
frains from eveiything that is evil, cheerfully, willingly 
and patiently ; while the other is fearful, slavish and sullen. 
The first is the disobedience of angels and saints, joyful in 
its performance and pleasing in the sight of God ; the other 



64 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

is that of devils and of men who delight in sin while they 
know its consequences. 

Thus the obedience of Christians is voluntary, based 
on gratitude and love to God the Father for his mercy 
and loving-kindness, to Jesus for his power and willing- 
ness to save them, and to the Holy Ghost for his sanctify- 
ing, enlightening and comforting influences. There 
is nothing slavish or fearful in such obedience, for love is 
its motive, and glory its reward. 

The effect of true and voluntary obedience to God is 
manifested in every station and relation of life, for it 
brings men, women and children into proper subjection to 
parents, teachers, magistrates and rulers, so that whoever is 
obedient to God is a good child, a good parent, a good 
friend and neighbor, and a good citizen. 

The natural heart cannot comprehend the blessedness 
of such obedience. Nothing but the salvation of Christ 
and his grace can bring the individual into a proper sub- 
jection, and make him a partaker of the heavenly joys 
which crown the obedient here and hereafter. Therefore, 
it behooves every sinner to consider his ways and be wise' 
in time. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 65 



CHAPTER XIX. 

WARNINGS AND JUDGMENTS HOW GOD CALLS SINNERS TO 

REPENTANCE. 

It has been remarked that our Saviour, in his teach- 
ings while on earth, frequently drew important lessons 
from his surroundings, the peculiarities of visible scenery, 
or the common incidents and events of human life. The 
sacred record bears sufficient proof of his ability to pre- 
sent most wholesome truths by these simple illustrations. 
As one example, let the reader turn with us to the first five 
verses of the thirteenth chapter of Luke's gospel. 

Regarding the incident related in the first verse, com- 
mentators have disagreed as to the event and the time of 
its occurrence. Several surmise that the Galileans men- 
tioned were " possibly the followers of Judas of Galilee, 
who, some twenty years before this, taught that Jews 
should not pay tribute to the Romans, and of whom we 
learn (Acts v., 37,) that he drew after him a multitude of 
followers, who, on his being slain, were all dispersed. 
About this time that party would be at its height, and if 
Pilate caused this detachment of them to be waylaid and 
put to death as they were offering their sacrifices at one 



66 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

of their festivals, that would be ' mingling their blood with 
their sacrifices.' " (Rev. David Brown's Commentary.) 
Mr. John Wesley, in his notes on this passage, says more 
positively : " Some of the followers of Judas G-aulonitas 
absolutely refused to own the Roman authority. Pilate 
surrounded and slew them while they were worshiping in 
the temple at a public feast." 

Concerning the other event, the disaster at Siloam, 
mentioned by our Saviour in the same connection (verse 
4), neither Josephus nor any other historian of those times 
refers to it. In that age the newspaper was unknown, and 
the information had probably been passed from mouth to 
mouth until it became public intelligence. It was un- 
doubtedly a correct version of the catastrophe. 

From both of these events our Saviour drew the same 
lesson (verses 3 and 5) ; and from that moment all gener- 
ations have been taught, (1) that the crimes and casual- 
ties ol every-day life are not necessarily instruments of 
God's displeasure, and (2) that it behooves all persons, 
young and old, to be ready at all times to die, however 
sudden the summons may be. 

At the time of the great Chicago fire, in 1871, numer- 
ous well-meaning people hastily pronounced it a judgment 
of G-od upon the inhabitants of the city for their wicked- 
ness. Inasmuch as the destruction was general, involving 
the ruin of churches, schools and Christian homes, as 
well as of theatres, drinking-saloons and gambling-rooms, 
it is difficult to agree with them in this wholesale denun- 
ciation. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 67 

So in other public calamities, men have misjudged the 
Lord, and attributed to his wrath what was simply a hid- 
den operation of his Providence — a measure of goodness 
that eventually resulted in a blessing to the world. 

In looking back 1850 years to the incidents related in 
the designated passage of the gospel, may we not make 
the same use of them that our Saviour did, and pronounce 
them — as we also may the great Chicago fire — not judg- 
ments, but warnings to the impenitent? 

To the Jews who heard him on that occasion he gave 
the solemn warning, " Except ye repent, ye shall all like- 
wise perish." To this impressive caution they gave no 
heed, but continued in their sins. a There was," says Mr. 
Wesley, " a remarkable resemblance between the fate of 
these Galileans and of the main body of the Jewish nation, 
the flower of which were slain at Jerusalem by the Roman 
sword, while they were assembled at one of their great 
festivals. And many thousands of them perished in the 
temple itself, and were literalty buried in its ruins." 

Our Saviour spoke to men of Galilee and Jerusalem, 
and the Greek version of the passage implies that all those 
of Galilee and Jerusalem who despised his gospel should 
perish in their sins. The bloody work of Pilate in the 
temple was a warning to them. So was the falling of the 
tower at Siloam also a warning. Whether the victims of 
the slaughter and the crumbling building were doomed to 
everlasting joy or misery he did not tell them. But from 
their fate came his sharp monition — " Except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish! " 



68 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

The loss of human life, especially by sudden disaster, 
is a fearful subject for contemplation, however lightly we 
may regard it in these busy and thoughtless days. It 
means a great deal to those who die. It means everlast- 
ing felicity with Christ and his redeemed ones in heaven, 
or eternal misery in hell with the devil and his angels. So 
the Bible declares. It means that the day of probation, 
during which men may repent of their sins and make their 
peace with God, has gone by ; and too often the bitter 
wail comes up from the untimely grave, " the harvest is 
past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved! " This 
is the lesson that our Saviour sought to teach the multi- 
tude who heard him on this occasion — " Except ye re- 
pent, ye shall all likewise perish! " 

When Nineveh had incurred God's displeasure, he sent 
Jonah to give the people notice of the impending destruc- 
tion of the city. The warning was heeded, the people re- 
pented, and the city was saved. 

So Christ, like Jonah, sounded, time and again, a sim- 
ilar warning to the Jews at Jerusalem ; but the vail was 
upon their hearts, and their eyes were blinded with their 
Pharisaical self-righteousness, so that the warning fell up- 
on ears that would not hear — upon thorny and stony 
ground. 

Thus, also, does his blessed gospel — his warnings, 
promises and beautiful lessons of life — fall dead upon the 
ears and the hearts of the children of this generation. The 
poet who said, " we find mankind the same in every age," 
well depicted the depravity of the human heart, which in 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 69 

all ages rejects the joy and blessedness of eternal life by 
sacrificing itself upon the altar of selfishness and unbelief. 
Do men find fault with God for requiring them to enter 
heaven by the Door, instead of climbing into its sacred 
precincts by some other way ? Then their hearts are in 
rebellion against him ; they have not on the wedding gar- 
ment, and if they are thrust into outer darkness forever, 
they have no one to blame but themselves. The Chris- 
tian heart is pained when it contemplates the condition of 
millions of souls, and cries out in agony, " Oh, if men 
would only submit themselves to the wisdom and mercy 
and goodness of God as willingly as they do to the allure- 
ments and dominion of the world, the flesh and the devil, 
what a different — what a glorious place our earth would 
be!" 

Does some one inquire : " Could not God have con- 
trived some other way of saving men than by repentance, 
faith in Christ, and continual obedience to his will ?" To 
which the Christian replies, " Undoubtedly he could. But 
it may be strongly doubted whether men would have been 
more willing to be saved in any other manner that God 
might require and good men approve." 

We can readily believe that in a moment, as quickly 
as Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding-feast in 
Cana, God could change all ardent spirits, all intoxicating 
drinks, into water, and burn all the breweries and distil- 
leries with fire from heaven, and so put an end to the out- 
ward effects of drunkenness in men. But would they be 
less drunkards at heart than they are now ? Would not 



70 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

thousands curse God and die unuer the burning of their 
unappeased appetites for intoxicating liquors? Would 
they be less wicked in any respect? Many, no doubt, 
would rejoice to see the utter impossibility of becoming 
inebriated again under such a divine ruling, but would 
there be any less profanity, falsehood or murder m their 
hearts than there was before ? Surely God's present way 
of saving drunkards is the best — to destroy the appetite 
for ardent spirits in the man and leave the intoxicating 
cup in existence ; to cleanse the heart and fill it with better 
aspirations, so that the decanter and the roysteriog com- 
panions shall become abominations in his sight, as in the 
sight of God. 

God has written it plainly, as in letters of fire, in his 
word, " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," 
and " Ye must be born again." " Flesh and blood " — 
with their corruptions — " cannot enter into the kingdom 
of heaven." How forcibly these warnings should reach 
the sinner's ears and awaken his conscience! Then will 
God's Holy Spirit show him his vileness, make him feel 
the burden of his iniquity, and urge him to flee to the 
Saviour, and so escape from the wrath to come. The 
transgressor cannot safely trust in any other course. He 
may eat and drink to-day, but to-morrow he must die. 
How unwise, then, for him to wait until disaster or illness 
cuts him off in his sins! " To-day the Saviour calls;" to- 
morrow may be too late. 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 71 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE BIBLE AS AN EDUCATOR IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

The United States professes to be a Christian nation. 
If such is the case, and Christianity has for its purpose an 
aggressive warfare upon everything that is evil, either in 
high or low places, it is perfectly proper, we believe, to 
discuss the vexed question, " Shall the Protestant Bible be 
read daily, without note or comment, in our public 
schools ?" This problem may not be solved until Grod 
shall decide it. 

Objections to this use of the hojy scriptures are urged 
exactly as they are advanced against every orthodox 
work and doctrine throughout the world, and have their 
origin either in bigotry or skepticism. Therefore believ- 
ers in all Protestant creeds have a direct interest in the 
question, and must answer to their consciences another in- 
terrogation : " Do we not dishonor God and deny our own 
faith when we oppose the daily reading of the Bible in our 
public schools?" 

So much good has been done, and is being done, by 
the free use of the Bible throughout the length and breadth 
of this and other lands, that Christians have cause to be 



72 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

greatly comforted and encouraged. In Germany, ior 
many generations, the study of the Bible — not a mere cur- 
sory reading of it, but a thorough examination of its his- 
tory and teachings — has been made in its educational in- 
stitutions, and that by a compulsory royal act. In Eng- 
land, under the Establishment, or national church, the 
reading of the scriptures and the learning of the apostolic 
creed, the Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments, if 
not so compulsory, are urged upon parents and the guard- 
ians of youth as beneficial to their religious and moral 
welfare. In view of these national examples, why may 
not the Bible be read from day to day in our schools as a 
prescribed duty r There its shining truths may reach the 
hearts of some who have no other opportunity of hearing 
them, and leave varied, wholesome and lasting impressions 
upon their minds. Surely it is proper to discuss this 
question to the fullest extent with those who oppose it, no 
matter whom they are — Romanists, Jews or infidels. The 
first we shall be slow to reconcile to our liberal Protestant 
systems, even if we burn our Bibles to please them, be- 
cause their religion flourishes better in the dimness of the 
cloister than in the light of truth and knowledge. The 
Israelite is more tolerant, and does not despise the com- 
mandments which his fathers received from God and 
deeply cherished. And the free-thinker will hardly care, 
with all his cavils, to root out the healthful influence 
which even irreligious writers have conceded springs from 
the teachings of the Bible. But bigotry and infidelity 
have strange ways, and to these it is owing to-day that 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 73 

the Bible is not read in our schools. As it was in the 
days of Christ, so it is now. The common people heard 
him gladly, but the priesthood and rulers discarded his 
doctrines because he opposed their self-interests and taught 
purity of life. In these days it is not the common people 
who oppose the reading of the Bible in the schools ; it is 
the men who control the interests of the schools. Until 
this tyranny is subdued by the power of Christianity — 
the Christianity of Christ — we must humble ourselves and 
submit to the powers that be, even as he, our Head and 
exemplar, bowed before his persecutors, trusting in his 
Father and ours to bring about our triumph in his own 
good time and way. 

It is possible that there is an impression in the minds 
of the people that the reading of the Bible in the public 
schools will conflict with the spirit of our national consti- 
tution ; but we are unable to see how the simple recital of 
God's word, without note or comment, is going to endan- 
ger the religious freedom of the country. For all that we 
can see, any other historical or moral reading-book might 
be excluded from the schools for a similar reason. The 
truth of history and the Bible will be vindicated, though 
all nations perish. 

With reference to the school-moneys, the question is, 
perhaps, more difficult of solution. It seems, however, as 
if religious influences have no right to interfere in the le- 
gitimate use of these funds. The money is raised by tax- 
ation from individuals of all classes, without regard to 
their religious beliefs, for the benefit of all people who 



74 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

have children to educate. No denomination of Christians 
or political party can claim a preference in those benefits, 
or be denied a share in them. But in a Protestant coun- 
try the Protestant religion will naturally prevail; and 
with it comes freedom of thought and speech, and a love 
of the good and true. Can we, then, afford to have the 
Bible, which is the accepted exponent of goodness and 
truth, excluded from the daily hearing of the children in 
our schools, lest some should be offended ? 

Finally, we feel that the whole subject resolves itself 
into this : That unless any particular form of bigotry is 
now, or is henceforth to be, the religion of our nation, or 
unless education from which Bible truths shall be discard- 
ed is preferable to sound spiritual knowledge, the wisdom 
of those who oppose the daily reading of the Bible in our 
public schools is to be considered " foolishness with God." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE NECESSITY OF PREACHING THE TRUTH, AND HOW TO 
MAKE IT EFFECTIVE. 

What is needed in these days of infidelity to awaken 
sinners, make the devil angry, and glorify God, is plain, 
earnest, practical preaching, supported by earnest, sincere, 
united and persistent prayer. The churches and the peo- 
ple have been so long sitting under the influence of hon- 
eyed words and intellectual emollients that the gospel 
power of the apostles has been immensely weakened. Look 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 75 

at Stephen's preaching — plain, simple truths, plainly ex- 
pressed, yet slashing like a cimeter at the very heart- 
strings and consciences of his hearers. Who dares to 
preach like that to-day — to make sin hideous by strip- 
ping off its tinsel, and arouse the smothering depravity of 
the soul until it overflows and kills the preacher ? 

Every sane Christian believes in preaching Christ cru- 
cified as the only salvation of dying sinners; but who 
dares to openly tell men and women that they are the sin- 
ners whom Christ came to save, and that unless they are 
born again — unless they heartily repent and turn away 
from their evil courses — they will all perish ? That was 
Christ's way — that was apostolic preaching in the first 
century, and in after-centuries men preached these truths, 
and died in their defence at the stake. 

Men, in a general way, will listen quietly and without 
concern to the modern preacher as he gracefully unfolds 
the love of Christ to those who believe in him as the only 
Saviour and do the best they can to please him by moral 
lives. Therefore we are not surprised to hear, next day, 
from the lips of one of his congregation, something like 
this : " It is impossible for me to believe in the miracu- 
lous conception of Christ, or that his death can save a dy- 
ing world ; I would like to believe it but I can't ; all I can 
do is to live the best I know how, be sincere in my unbe- 
lief, and if there is a future life, I suppose it will be all 
right with me, any way." 

It is wonderful how much of this spirit is abroad in the 
world. We do not say that the half-hearted, large-head- 



76 SCRir AND STAFF. 

ed ministers are altogether to blame for this corruption of 
Bible truth, but somebody is ; and if judgment begins at 
the house of God, where will the sinner and the ungodly 
appear ? Men do not, as a general thing, like to be con- 
fronted with the message : " You are the sinner abiding 
in the wrath of God — you, whose whole life is a stench in 
the nostrils of your Creator ; you are the sinner whom Je- 
sus died to save; you must be born again; you must truly 
repent and seek forgiveness, or go down to an everlasting, 
burning hell ; you must reform your miserable life, and 
submit to God and obey him, or forever perish." This 
they call the language of " fanaticism," which the intelli- 
gence of this age has exploded ; doctrines good enough for 
their praying old fathers and mothers, but which, in the 
light of Comte, Huxley, Spencer, Darwin and Ingersoll, 
have lost their force, and should be consigned to oblivion 
forever. 

Yerily, these must be — nay, are, the " perilous times " 
foretold by the Apostle Peter; and we have reason to 
shudder when we consider where all this unbelief will end, 
what fearful lives and dreadful deaths will overtake the 
very next generation, and consign millions to that outer 
darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

What is to be done ? "As ye go. preach" — preach the 
living truth of God, as John the Baptist, Christ and his 
apostles preached it — preach the wickedness of sin, uni- 
versal depravity, hell-fire of the hottest degree for har- 
dened sinners, the necessity of being born again. Get 
everybody under conviction for sins and inward deprav- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 77 

ity. " Cry aloud, and spare not," for the time is short. 
Should the church members fight the doctrine of holiness 
as something strange and fanatical, bring them under con- 
demnation with the many Bible truths that show the re- 
quirements of God in this respect : " Be ye holy ;" " this 
is the will of God, even your sanctification ;"'* without 
holiness no man can see God ;" " the soul that sinneth it 
shall die," and a hundred others. 

The idea to be impressed upon all classes of hearers, at 
all times and in all places, is the necessity of thorough re- 
generation, based on a heartfelt repentance for sin, the for- 
giveness of sin, the new birth, and pure living to the glo- 
ry of God. Point out Christ as " the Way," to reach 
whom all must " strive to enter in at the strait gate ;" 
" the Truth," as manifested in his teachings ; and " the 
Life," whereby, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, full 
salvation may and must be secured by every follower of 
Jesus. 

The preaching that excites the wrath of the devil and, 
of course, pleases God, has been thus briefly and earnestly 
outlined. Men must be led to see themselves as God sees 
them before he can reveal himself to them in saving love ; 
they must come to a realizing sense of their utter help- 
lessness and inability to save themselves, and the press- 
ing necessity of being saved in God's own way. Then 
will the gospel balm come blessedly to their souls in the 
form of peace with God, a gift th t passes all understand- 
ing and exceeds all other joy. 

Another suggestion : Let the preachers make much of 



/O SCRIP AND STAFF. 

the " nots " of the Bible — Thou shalt not have any other 
gods before me ; thou shalt not worship graven images of 
any sort, nor serve them ; thou shalt not blaspheme my 
name ; thou shalt not work on the Sabbath ; thou shalt not 
dishonor father or mother ; thou shalt not kill ; thou shalt 
not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not 
bear false witness against thy neighbor; thou shalt not 
covet thy neighbor's property or blessings ; and so on in 
all that God expressly forbids in his word. 

Sinners and the devil can stand a great deal of senti- 
mental preaching — a great deal of persuasion to accept 
Christ, so long as sin is not denounced. But when it is, 
then comes the strife ; thpn the devil comes down in great 
anger ; the hardened infidels are roused into opposition ; the 
self-righteous begin to tremble; sinners begin to cry, "G-od 
be merciful to me " — and the revival has commenced in 
earnest. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE FOLLY AND WICKEDNESS OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS EXEM- 
PLIFIED. 

Most of the opposition which our Saviour encountered 
while on earth came from the Pharisees, who claimed to be 
righteous because they were the descendants of Abraham, 
the children of God's covenant with him, and the strict- 
ness with which they followed the religious forms, cere- 
monies and traditions of their ancestors. On several occa- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 79 

sions their doctrines and practices met with the severest 
rebukes from the lips of the Saviour, who openly de- 
nounced them as hypocrites, and unworthy of a place in 
the kingdom of heaven. One of these conflicts with them, 
recorded in John viii., is of great significance as showing 
his estimation of their pretended righteousness, as is, also, 
his denunciation of them in Matthew xxiii., where he com- 
pares them to " whited sepulchres, which indeed appear 
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones 
and of all uncleanness." 

Their self-righteousness and outward religion might 
deceive many, but it could not find favor in his sight, for 
" he knew what was in man," and placed no value on their 
long prayers and pretentious observances while they de- 
voured widows' houses , and gave other evidences of sinful 
hearts ; paying attention to the minor requirements of the 
law, yet scorning the practice of mercy and love toward 
their fellow-men, and rejecting him as their Saviour. In 
this they showed only the natural result of self-righteous- 
ness — unbelief in the gospel, and the expectation of enter- 
ing heaven by morality and pious ceremonies, — results 
quite too common in this day and generation to be over- 
looked. Our Saviour was accustomed to teach by para- 
bles. Let us, for once, follow his example : 

Sceva is one of many who have been wrecked in mid- 
ocean by the sinking of their ship. Some have gone down 
forever in the great waters. Others are floating on boards 
and pieces of the wreck. There has been no violent storm. 
The vessel was not lost by stress of weather, but through 



80 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

the fault of some of those who controlled her movements. 
Some of the wrecked ones have found safety in the life- 
boats, and others have floated off upon whatever they 
could find to cast overboard. Sceva has secured a stout, 
broad plank for his life-preserver. A few have gathered 
up fragments of bread and flasks of fresh water, and Sceva 
has been thus provident. 

And now, after the wind has scattered these poor wan- 
derers far and wide, it subsides into a light and pleasant 
air, and the sea becomes quiet. The bright sunshine 
serves to warm the limbs and dry the clothing of Sceva. 
and in the possession of something to eat and drink he 
feels almost happy. How it is going to end he knows 
not. Whither he is drifting he cares not. But he hopes 
for the best, and that he shall reach his desired haven 
safely. 

At length night begins to settle upon the sea, and the 
declining sun reveals to his vision a noble steamship rap- 
idly approaching him. Nearer and nearer she comes. 
Now she is very near ; but Sceva makes no cry for help, 
and it is only as the great steamer is about to dash past 
him that the commander sees the poor man on his plank. 
A few brief orders, and the obedient vessel pauses in her 
course. The commander, from the wheel-house, hails the 
helpless man : " Hold on a minute longer, and I'll send a 
boat for you." The feeble answer comes up from the wa- 
ters : " But you are a British ship. I see the cross on 
your flag, and I won't be picked up by you. No, sir ! I'm 
an independent American citizen, of wealth and influence, 



SCRIP AND STAFF 81 

and I never liked your nation and people ! The weather 
is pleasant, I have food and water, and I am going to wait 
here until some vessel from my own nation comes along 
and takes me home. I am safe enough till then." " But, 
my fine fellow," replies the commander, "don't you see night 
coming and the storm-cloud yonder? You had better 
come with us." " No, I will not! I have a strong plank 
under me, and I'll risk the weather. Go on, and don't an- 
noy me any more!" 

The poor, dying sinner, clinging to his morality and 
worldly possessions for his eternal safety, is no less foolish 
than the drowning Sceva. The ship of Zion is nigh to save 
him to-day. From her spars floats the flag of Peace, bear- 
ing the symbol of him who offers salvation from sin and 
eternal misery, and bestows purity and eternal joy upon 
those who accept his redeeming love. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

PEOPLE WHO ARE TIRED OF THE GOSPEL PREVALENT IN- 
DIFFERENCE TO THE TRUTH. 

u Sunday is such a long, tiresome day," said an ac- 
quaintance recently. " Why don't you go to church, then, 
even if it is only to pass away the time ?" we queried. " So 
I would," was the reply, " if the ministers would only tell 
me something new, but they all preach the same old things 
that I've heard over and over, and over again." Here was 
a man tired of the gospel — so tired of its precious truths 



82 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

and comforting words that he would not go to church, pre- 
ferring a Sunday theatre instead. 

It is strange how many excuses people will frame to 
avoid listening to the voice of God. We have here in 
Chicago scores of elegant, not to say luxurious churches, 
brilliant on Sunday with flowers, costly dresses, and arch- 
itectural display ; rich in pulpit oratory and intellectual re- 
search, and music, both instrumental and vocal, the best 
that can be purchased for money. Still the vacant seats 
are numerous, unless the preacher (as in two or three rare 
instances) has achieved a sensational triumph by opposing 
some unpopular Christ i -u doctrine and scattering seeds of 
unbelief in the hearts of his hearers. These are exception- 
al cases,, for there are very few churches outside of our 
theatres and concert halls that can fill their pews with eith- 
er ungodly or devout attendants. The people are tired 
of the gospel. 

Tired of the word of truth ; tired of divine teachings 
that should make them wise unto salvation; tired of the 
story of the cross and the dying Saviour; tired of the 
promise of a joyful eternity to be won through the instru- 
mentalities of faith and prayer; tired of appeals to the 
heart and conscience to turn away from evil and walk in 
holiness and righteousness ; tired of the blessed character 
of Christ revealed to us in his words and works ; tired of 
everything that does not bring money or sensual pleasure 
to the individual! 

Who is to blame for the masses being tired of the gos- 
pel ? Are the churches, the ministers, or the non-attend- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 83 

ants upon divine worship, or all of these, responsible for 
the indifference and the unbelief that so generally prevail 
throughout the land? 

This question opens up too large a field for investiga- 
tion to be cultivated in this brief space. We do not say 
that judgment should begin at the house of God, but God 
himself speaks very plainly to his ministering servants and 
defines their duties and responsibilities very minutely in 
Ezekiel iii., 16-21. The sacred desk is no place for " glit- 
tering generalities " or sugar-coated devices to captivate 
the mind and leave the consciences and hearts of the un- 
saved una wakened. Are the people themselves to blame ? 
In the sight of God they are ; for he that believeth not is 
already condemned ; and if they turn away their feet from 
the sanctuary on his holy day because they are tired of his 
gospel, and seek their own pleasure elsewhere, how can 
they expect to be saved ? It is well enough to say that 
" God is love," for he is ; but men and women must love 
him also, in order to complete the harmony between him 
and them. And without this harmony there can be no sal- 
vation. 



84 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE REQUIREMENTS OF CHRISTIANITY LOVING OUR NEIGH- 
BORS AS OURSELVES. 

Our Saviour had an interesting and most important 
lesson to teach the Pharisees of his day in the parable of 
the man who endeavored to travel from Jerusalem to Jer- 
icho, but fell among thieves, was robbed, and left half-dead 
by the wayside ; Luke x., 25-37. 

The lawyer whose questions led to the recital of this 
parable knew the Mosaic law in regard to loving G-od and 
his neighbors properly. He had read it as follows in the 
books of Moses : " Thou shalt " (said God) " have no 
other gods before me." (Exodus xx., 3.) " Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy vi., 5.) 
" Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the 
children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself." (Leviticus xix., 18.) But this lawyer, with 
all the Pharisees, had interpreted these commandments to 
suit his own narrow religious views, and confined their 
meaning simply to this : That God must be worshiped 
as the Creator in preference to idols and other gods , and 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 85 

the iove of the neighbor was limited to doing no wrong to 
him. 

Christ came to give the Mosaic law a wider and more 
definite construction. " All things whatsoever ye would 
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Mat- 
thew viii., 12.) u Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment. And the second 
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 
(Matthew xxii., 37-47.) And in the parable referred to 
he explains to the lawyer who is his neighbor, for it seems 
that the Pharisees did not consider everybody their neigh- 
bors, but were partial in their views upon this subject; 
perhaps no one but a prosperous Pharisee could, in his es- 
timation, have any claim upon his affections. The lesson 
to be taught in the parable was this : That our neighbor 
is the first man, or woman, or child, that we find in trouble, 
need, or sorrow, whether a stranger, acquaintance, friend, 
or enemy, no matter what may be the sufferer's station in 
life, or how much soever he or her may differ from our- 
selves in social or religious opinions. Such a one we are 
to love with tenderness and compassion, and relieve and 
comfort to the best of our ability. 

So Christ designed to teach us to love God with all 
our affections (the heart), with all sincerity and truth 
(the soul), and all the energies of our being (our might). 

The parable also exemplifies Christ's love for us. The 
famous Martin Luther, making it the subject of one of his 
discourses, thus classifies the persons and the incidents 



86 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

therein referred to : The wounded one represents every 
man in his natural state, beset and nearly destroyed by sin 
and evil forces. The priest represents church ceremonies 
and forms. The Levite represents the worldlings, who,, 
absorbed in the pursuits and pleasures of life, cannot halt 
to bestow relief. The good Samaritan represents Christ r 
despised and rejected by the formal church and the world,, 
as the Samaritans were by the Jews. The wine and the 
oil represent the cleansing and healing power of grace and 
the gospel, which, being combined, bring comfort and 
peace to the troubled soul. In this connection let us note 
the love and compassion of Jesus in binding up the suffer- 
er's wounds and covering his nakedness with his own 
righteous garments. The inn represents the true church 
of Christ in the world, wherein the saved sinner receives 
all needful care ; and the host or landlord represents the 
true ministry of the gospel, whom Christ graciously re- 
wards here, with the promise of further blessings when he 
shall come again. 

Do any doubt the compassion of Christ, or his power 
to relieve and comfort the sin-sick sinner ? Hear his glo- 
rious invitation : " Come unto me, all ye that labor and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke 
upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in 
heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 



SCRIP AND STAFF 87 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE CHANGED CHARACTER OF PAUL CONSIDERED SINNER 

AND SAINT. 

St. Paul stands out upon the sacred page as one of 
the most trustworthy witnesses to the saving power and 
excellency of Christ. Born at a period when the Jewish 
religion had degenerated into a pharisaical system of emp- 
ty forms and ceremonies, when the worship of God had 
lost the elements of sincerity and earnestness, and when 
the heart no longer echoed the song of praise uttered by 
the tongue in the temple service, Paul was educated in the 
law, and brought the brilliancy of his talents into the pop- 
ular rendering of its requirements. In this distortion of 
God's will we find him pre-eminently zealous, bringing the 
followers ol Jesus before the Jewish authorities for perse- 
cution, and rejoicing in the havoc that he, made among 
Christians. To convert such a self-confident and intelli- 
gent opponent of the religion of Jesus required a miracle, 
and in that act the whole mental and spiritual being of 
the man was changed. No longer a destroyer of Chris- 
tians, he became a zealous leader among them, and an ob- 
ject of persecution in their behalf. It is in this latter 



88 SCRIP AND STAFJf. 

character that the Christian world to-day so highly vener- 
ates his record and gives earnest heed to the teachings of 
(his epistles. And it is well to do so ; tor if ever human 
mature was thoroughly subdued to the divine will, and im- 
bued with the fullness of the spirit of Christ, it was done 
in Paul. 

Look at the object of his life after his transformation 
irom nature's darkness to the marvelous light of the gos- 
pel of the Son of God, as set forth in his epistle to the 
Philippians ; desiring to know Christ, to be found in him, 
and to magnify him ; " counting all things but loss for the 
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord;" 
laboring in the cause of the gospel under the severest af- 
flictions, yet rejoicing in the Lord continually. 

Paul, as portrayed in his o>vn writings, is a study for 
sinners as well as Christians. As earnest, as zealous, as 
self-confident, in his ignorance of the true religion and his 
following of sinful waj^s as he was in his Christian career, 
lie thought that he was doing right and would receive the 
divine approval. His sincerity of opinion and practice 
before his conversion none can doubt. No human power 
could have convinced him, in his ignorance of God's char- 
acter and will, that he was pursuing a course that would 
plunge him into eternal misery. He would have pleaded 
his profound knowledge of the law, and his desire to do 
right, as manifested in his zeal. So the una wakened sinner 
too often trusts in his sincerity of life, despising hypocrit- 
ical professions of piety in others, and depending upon his 
.morality, his power to overcome temptation by the force of 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 89 ! 

his own will, and the universal and indiscriminate mercy 
of God toward his creatures. Fortified in this position r 
nothing but the special grace of God, as in Paul's case r 
can overthrow him, and arouse him to the falsity of his- 
opinions and the danger of his condition. 

How differently Paul wrote in the epistle to which we 
have referred, having no confidence in the flesh to over- 
come sin, but desiring to u win Christ and be found in him r 
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, 
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the right- 
eousness which is of God 037- faith." 

To the converted, Paul is also a wise, a comforting 
counselor. It was to this class that most of his letters 
were addressed, and in them the true Christian discerns 
the reflection of the teachings of his divine Master. Every- 
where Christ is glorified in all the phases of Paul's per- 
sonal experience and advice. The humility, the patience, 
the submission and the obedience of Paul compare richly 
with these traits of character in the earthly life of his Sa- 
viour, manifesting the perfection of the apostle under the 
influence of the heavenly grace wherein he abounded, and 
whereby Christ was magnified in him. 

Do any doubt the possibility of attaining to such a 
state of grace as this? Christian, you may do it under 
the gracious influences of your Redeemer's Holy Spirit. 
Sinner, Christ can so cleanse you from sin that your right- 
eousness may equal that of Paul. God rules now as then. 
Are you willing to be so fully saved ? 



90 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE VALUE OF RELIGIOUS TESTIMONY. 

The influence of a witness in our courts is in propor- 
tion to the importance of his testimony, his positive knowl- 
edge of that which he affirms, and his strict adherence to 
the truth in all its fullness, whatever its effect upon the 
case fti hand. Few things so militate against the evidence 
of a witness as hesitation, which evinces a disposition to 
keep back a part of the truth, or to garble it in such a way 
as to convey a wrong impression of the circumstances to 
the minds of a jury. Therefore perfect frankness, even to 
the. confession of his own mistakes of judgment, will 
strongly commend a witness to the tribunal before which 
he testifies. The testimony of a professing Christian be- 
fore his church or his class derives its value, also, from 
similar characteristics. That is the best testimony which 
comes from the heart, prompted by the Holy Ghost, 
whether it may involve criticism, or even censure, or 
elicit admiration for its deep spirituality and clearness of 
experience. 

One saint may only be able to confess that God, for 
Christ's sake, has pardoned every sin ; but this witness, be- 



avJRIP AND STAFF. 91 

ing fully assured of what he speaks, carries to the hearts 
of all his hearers the pleasing impression that he stands be- 
fore them and God fully justified and filled with the joy 
of conversion. Are there any unsaved ones who hear this 
evidence — souls who have at any time been convicted, or 
convinced of righteousness, of sin, and of judgment — such a 
joyous testimony of the power and willingness of God to for- 
give sin and reconcile us to him, so that we are no longer his 
enemies, but adopted into his family as sons and daughters, 
must come like the voice of an angel to warn and encour- 
age them also to seek an interest in the salvation of Jesus. 
Does any tried and tempted soul, converted to Christ, be- 
gin to testify to a desire to be filled with righteousness, 
and to be delivered from inbred depravity, that experi- 
ence finds sympathy in many other souls who acknowledge 
the condition of the witness to be their own, and find en- 
couragement in the Bible promises on which he rests his 
hope of certain deliverance in God's own good time and 
way. Does any soul which has been delivered from the 
experience just referred to, testify to the power of the 
blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse from all unrighteousness, 
and the ability of the Holy Ghost to fully sanctify the 
whole being and make these infirm bodies temples wherein 
he may dwell, how many hearts in which remain certain 
" roots of bitterness springing up to trouble them " rejoice 
to hear of such a glorious freedom from inbred sin! An- 
other soul may testify to a still deeper work of grace than 
even this — a perfect union of the branch to the true Yine, 
so that the life of Christ flows. freely into the heart of this 



92 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

saint, and overflows upon every other heart with which it 
comes in contact. 

Now there is positive value in each of these evidences 
of the divine work wrought within the soul. Somebody 
is edified, comforted and strengthened by them, and God 
is glorified in the confession of his power to save to the 
uttermost under all the different circumstances of saint- 
ship ; but he is more glorified in every desire, created un- 
der such testimony, that results in a more perfect conse- 
cration in order to obtain the highest and richest spiritual 
gifts. 

The value of Christian testimony as an important 
means of grace is therefore established beyond a perad- 
venture. This value is increased by the freshness, the 
earnestness, the fullness of assurance, and the directness 
with which it is uttered. Such testimony is prompted by 
the Holy Ghost, and is by him applied to the human 
hearts for whom it is needed, bringing forth good fruits 
for time and eternity. 



The testimonies of the saved children of God, given 
from time to time in the religious press, in missions, and 
in class-rooms, especially of those who enjoy the blessing 
of holiness — that " perfect love " which " casteth out fear "" 
— are remarkably similar in spirit and expression. This 
cannot very well be otherwise, for whatever are the pro- 
cesses by which salvation or Bible holiness is attained, the 
results must necessarily resemble each other. Jt may be 
objected by those who are unsaved, or only justified, that 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 93 

these professions of holiness are manifestations of a self- 
righteous spirit. Those who understand the operations of 
the Holy Ghost upon the sanctified soul will not, how- 
ever, fall into this mistake, for the true Christian knows 
that he speaks not of his own perfection, but of that which 
is wrought by an indwelling Christ. In this connection 
the words of the apostle John, in the second verse of the 
fourth chapter of his first epistle — " Every spirit that con- 
fesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God " — 
receive a new and deeper meaning; for the sanctified 
Christian knows that Christ has come into his flesh, and he 
is born of God ; and " whatsoever is born of God over- 
cometh the world " and sin. Thus the withholding of a 
profession of the blessing of holiness, after it has become 
an experience, is dishonoring God ; and often a neglect of 
this duty has been a snare of the devil to mislead and 
curse with spiritual poverty many a poor soul that should 
have openly confessed the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus 
to cleanse mankind from all unrighteousness, and of the 
Holy Ghost to effect the new birth that makes us more 
like God., If God has thus blessed us, let us publicly ac- 
cord to him all the glory of our salvation. 



54 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

CHRISTIANITY IN ITS RELATIONS TO GOOD LIVING AND 

HAPPY DYING TWO DEATH-BEDS UNIVER- 

SALISM AND SUICIDE DEATH PREFER- 
ABLE TO A SINFUL LIFE. 

A vision of the night : two souls passing from time in- 
to eternity — how solemn the scene! 

i. 

In a dimly lighted room an elderly man lay dving. 
Around his bed, amid silence broken only by his shortened 
breathing, and their own sighs and sobs of grief, were gath- 
ered the members of his family. On his features was a 
peaceful smile, indicating entire resignation and inward 
happiness. 

• At the head of the bed stood the blessed Saviour of 
men, attended by holy angels ; at its foot hovered the 
sneering and repulsive Prince of Darkness. While thus 
they awaited the coming of the angel of death to termi- 
nate the sufferings of the poor, frail body over which they 
watched, Satan said, in a peevish tone, unheard by mortal 
ears : " Son of God, this soul is thine — I have no claim 
upon it! Forty years ago this man was an unclean gam- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 95 

bier, and one of my most faithful servants. Whatever I 
required of him he performed in strict obedience. But 
one evening he heard a street-preacher proclaim with 
thrilling fervor, ' Ye must be born again !' Thy Holy 
Spirit applied the warning to his soul, and he trembled at 
its power. Then he flew to thee for help, and not in vain. 
I lost my hold upon him, and you gained a saint! In 
vain, for years, I strove to allure him again into my serv- 
ice with all my devilish arts, but he would nevermore 
listen to my words. From that day he was thine for time; 
now he is thine for eternity." 

"Yea," replied the Saviour, u Blessed are the dead who 
die in the Lord; for he that believeth in me, though he 
were dead, yet shall he live, and I will be his exceeding 
great reward forever!" 

At this moment death delivered the dying Christian 
from all the trials of earth, and the angels of God carried 
him to Abraham's bosom, to await the resurrection of the 
just. 

ii. 

In a luxurious apartment an emaciated man lay 
struggling for breath, his body tortured with pain and his 
countenance manifesting the intensity of his mental and 
physical suffering. There were near relatives of the dy- 
ing man about his bed, waiting to hear his final groan, and 
to divide his substance among themselves; for he was 
very rich. 

Again the Saviour and the Enemy of Souls were pres- 
ent, but Satan now stood beside the pillow of the sufferer, 



96 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

while the Saviour, with bended head, wept at the foot of 
the bed. 

" This man," said Satan. " belongs to me, and a better 
follower I never had! In his youth he stole his employ- 
er's money, at my behest. I helped him to hide his theft; 
I led him to seek, with his ill-gained wealth, the vilest 
pleasures in all available abodes of vice, and while I de- 
spised the fool for his folly, I led him daily deeper into 
the currents of dissipation and disgrace. I aided him to 

gain wealth until his avarice outgrew in fierceness and 

• 

power all other vices in which he had indulged. Oh, how 
faithful he was to my suggestions! I heaped upon him 
enormous riches, and with these he largely purchased 
worldly honors and influence. I taught him hypocrisy. 
Under the cloak of a professing Christian, he gave numer- 
ous pittances to benevolent societies, and the public bowed 
down before him, and more than repaid his charities, sat- 
isfied with his approval. Long life was his, with luxury 
and every pleasure at his command. Once I thought he 
was lost to me forever. At a revival meeting, one night, 
thy Spirit urged him to repent and turn from my service 
to thine. For a brief space he saw thy bleeding wounds 
and heaventy face, and faltered in his downward course. 
But the sacrifice which thou didst require from him in ex- 
change for the benefit of thine own was repelled by the 
avarice that I had implanted in his breast. He could not 
serve God and mammon, as he gladly would have done. 
But* I reasoned with him; thy Spirit was grieved away by 
his indifference to his eternal welfare, and I triumphed 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 97 

over thee in the spiritual darkness that then fell upon his 
soul. From that hour he was mine. No gospel truth had 
any longer a charm for him, or wrought an influence upon 
bis life. Deeper he plunged into worldly business and 
pleasures ; and now, see ! he gains the reward of all his life- 
long enmity to thee ! He comes, in the arms of death, to 
me, to be consigned, with all nry eternal hatred, to the 
deepest pit of hell !" 

And as the devil strode out of the room in vindictive 
triumph, taking with him the lost and agonized soul, the 
Saviour turned sadly away, saying: 

" Alas, I would have saved him had he come to me, 
but he would not I Verily, .the wages of sin is death! " 



The tendency of Universalism, or that doctrine which 
teaches the final salvation of all men, however wickedly 
they may have lived or died, is to promote evil rather 
than righteousness. The idea that the worst of crimes 
will escape everlasting punishment can only tend to in- 
crease the indulgence of revenge, lust, selfishness and other 
baser passions, by taking away the sting of death, which 
is the sense of sin in the human soul. To illustrate : Sev- 
eral years ago a pious Baptist minister, after preaching the 
gospel from youth to old age, became incapacitated for 
further pulpit duty, and was inexorably superannuated. 
His life had been spent in study and Christian work, and 
he had no more appreciation of worldly business than an 
infant. Thrown upon his own resources, with a large fam- 
ily, without the means of supporting himself and those 



98 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

dependent upon him, he became an object of charity, and 
the world was not a pleasant place for them. In these 
straitened circumstances he was induced to go, one Sun- 
day, to hear a Universalist minister preach — probably such 
a sermon as he had never before heard. At its close he 
arose and addressed the minister as follows: " Sir, if you 
can convince me that your doctrine is true, I and my fam- 
ily will all be in eternity before to-morrow night!" Of 
course there could be no answer to so reasonable a remark, 
for if there is nothing but joy and peace for all beyond 
the grave (as preached by the Universalists), why need he 
and his family suffer the trials and privations of this world 
any longer ? Suicide and murder would soon deliver them 
out of all their troubles. What a wicked perversion of 
God's truth is this! 



At the door of a revival tent, one evening, we met a 
man whose countenance indicated a life of dissipation, but 
who was then apparently perfectly sober. Entering into 
conversation with him, he was soon led to say that he had 
lived in sin to a fearful extent, and manifested all the anx- 
iety of a sin-sick soul to become a better man. He 
deemed the minister who was then preaching an excellent 
evangelist, and spoke rationally of turning from darkness 
to the marvelous light of the gospel for relief and reform ; 
but, said he, ' k I have so ruined myself by my bad prac- 
tices that I fear if I give them up I shall die." A little 
counsel followed ; but we did not tell him, as we might 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 99 

truly have done, that it was better for him to die saved 
than to live longer in iniquity. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE UNSCRIPTURAL AND DEBASING CHARACTER OF THE 
"■ EVOLUTION " PHILOSOPHY. 

Briefly speaking, the Evolutionists, represented by 
Charles R. Darwin, of England, and supported by numer- 
ous would-be " philosophers " on both sides of the Atlan- 
tic, assert that the higher forms of life, such as man, were 
" evolved," or produced in succession from the lowest sort 
of existences — a shell-fish, or a snail, for instance — instead 
of being created a perfect man, coming from the hand of 
God complete, and made in the image of his Maker. 
Scarcely could anything more repulsive than this theory 
be presented to a Christian mind. This doctrine of " ev- 
olution " has been reduced to a graded system, founded 
upon the " survival of the fittest " of each class of exist- 
ences, and the power of the u fittest" to produce a higher 
or more perfect state of existence in its progeny. The in- 
genuity of this system of belief has attracted the attention 
and gained the interest of many persons who are ready to 
r eceive any plausible doctrine rather than accept the Bible 
as the word of God ; and in this way they have been led 
into another of the various forms of infidelity with which 
the world is cursed. 



100 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

It seems to us that the errors of this system of thought 
arise from a misapplicatiou of the knowledge which God 
has revealed to mankind through his servant and histori- 
an, Moses. It is true, according to sacred writ, that God's 
greatest and best creations in peopling the earth (man and 
woman) were the last in 

" The perfect world by Adam trod; " 

but the same sublime authority assures us that the birds 
and beasts and " every creeping thing " were as certainly 
distinct and characteristic in their original production up- 
on the earth as man himself. (See Genesis i., 20-25.) "And 
God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was 
very good," (verse 31.) Had anything been imperfect, 
is it reasonable that he would have thus given it his ap- 
proval ? 

Everything, therefore, being perfect in its kind as it 
was originally made, and as we have reason to believe it 
must have been, there was no necessity for the "evolution" 
system of Darwin and his co-thinkers. Each animal, and 
bird, and reptile, and insect, came upon the stage of ac- 
tion complete in itself, to glorify its Creator by living the 
life given to it in the station to which Almighty wisdom 
assigned it. If God could create angels, (who are higher 
in the scale of existence than man) he surely could pro- 
duce a perfect Adam out of the dust of the earth and give 
him a soul and a physical life every way appropriate to the 
chief of created earthly beings. 

The minds of unsanctioned men are so constituted that 
often effects are mistaken for causes, so that the designs of 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 101 

the Creator become distorted to their mental vision. In 
such a contingency the judgment is warped, and the con- 
clusion reached may be very, very far from the truth. 
Should they plead the sincerity of their opinions, they have 
yet to learn that sincerity is but a poor excuse for error, 
for error may be persisted in to the end of time and yet 
be error still. 

Suppose an " evolutionist " for the first time sees a po- 
tato just dug from the ground and incrusted with its na- 
tive soil. Without knowing anything of its origin or 
character, he brings the force of his intellect to its investi- 
gation, and applies his favorite theory of production. Did 
the potato produce the incrustation of earth, or did the 
earth produce the potato ? The man who planted the seed- 
potato, watched over and cultivated the growing plant, 
and dug the new potato out of its place of growth, can an- 
swer the philosopher's question correctly ; but if the phil- 
osopher will not believe the gardener, he may study upon 
the origin and nature of his new acquisition until he dies 
without becoming any wiser concerning it. If men are 
disposed to doubt the statements of the Bible relative to 
the work of creation and the history and destiny of man- 
kind, they resemble this philosopher, or the sailor in an 
unknown sea who would refuse to be guided by his chart 
and compass. On the whole, in such a case, a little faith 
in divine wisdom is better than a library of fallacious rea- 
soning. 



102 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE PROCESSES BY WHICH MEN RECEIVE AND REJECT 

SALVATION. 

u Faith," said the apostle, in Romans x., 17 — " faith 
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 
And when the ruler of the synagogue was told that his 
daughter was dead (Mark v., 36), a greater than Paul said 
to him, "Be not afraid; only believe." In the Revised 
Version of the New Testament, the first passage quoted 
reads : " Hearing cometh by the word of Christ." And 
in the second quotation it was the word of Christ that 
strengthened the sorrow-stricken parent. 

Take these statements — these coincidences, if they are 
nothing more — as the groundwork for our belief in the 
Bible as the word of truth, the word of God, the word of 
Christ, and what better foundation can we have for our 
faith in the Holy Scriptures ? The Jewish ruler found the 
word of Christ sufficient not only to soothe his fear and 
grief, but to restore his u loved and lost one," in life and 
health, to the parental arms. So did the widow of Nam, 
(Luke vii., 11-16), when, by a word, the Saviour gave 
back to her burdened heart her only son for her comfort 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 103 

and support, even from his bier. So did the sisters of 
Bethany (John xi., 1-45), when he called their brother 
from the grave. And so have thousands who have put 
their trust in him and his words since he ascended into 
heaven. 

For the religion of the Bible is builded upon faith. 
Look at Abraham, Jacob, David, Stephen and Paul, with 
the host of others who, " having obtained a good report 
through faith, received not the promise, God having pro- 
vided some better thing for us," (who believe in their 
words) " that they without us should not be made per- 
fect ;" that is, our faith in their word, and in God's deal- 
ings with them, brings both us and them within the same 
fold, so that, together, we share in the promised blessings. 

The religion of the Bible requires our faith in whatev- 
er it states, either " for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, for instruction in righteousness," and is not only 
worthy of belief because " all scripture is given by inspi- 
ration of God," but because it is profitable for us, and 
"able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith 
which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy iii., 15, 16.) 

At least seven points of doctrine does the Lord re- 
quire us to believe in order to prepare us for the intelli- 
gent reception of his salvation, namely : In himself as the 
Creator and Preserver of all things. In the Bible as his 
word. In the divine nature of Christ. In the perfect 
atonement wrought bv Christ upon the cross for the sins 
of all mankind. In his resurrection from the dead. In 
his office as our Mediator and Advocate at the right hand 



104 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

of the Father. In his coming to judge the living and the 
dead at the end of the world. 

These form what may be esteemed as essential bases 
for our faith, without which our understanding of the re- 
ligion of the Bible will be confused and uncertain. Nor 
are these doctrines, evidently, of equal importance in be- 
ginning the new life which the Bible describes and requires 
in proof of a change of heart, but they all so harmonious- 
ly unite in forming the Christian's creed that none should 
be omitted from it. The one great fundamental truth that 
the atonement on the cross was made once for all, is the 
center around which all our other beliefs should gather. 

Our faith, however, should never be devoid of reason. 
Our devotion to G-od should be manifest in " our reason- 
able service," (Romans xii., 1,) and we should w ' be ready 
always to give an answer to every man that asketh of us 
a reason of the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear." 
(1 Peter iii., 15.) And however much we may have pre- 
viously been at variance with God and his salvation, as 
soon as we come into harmony with him by faith and love, 
there is nothing in the Bible that will seem contrary to 
our reason. Not a single command — not an event — not 
a promise within its lids will then appear unreasonable to 
us. We shall then see how our evil courses, the clouds of 
sin, our undue love of the world and its unhallowed de- 
lights, have obscured our understandings ; and our minds, 
restored to purity and enlightened by the Holy Ghost, 
will then apprehend, as never before, the mercy, the love, 
the holiness, the wisdom and the power of God. Nowhere 



(SCRIP AND STAFF. 105 

does he require us to exercise faith without reason. In 
Isaiah i., 18, he specially invites sinning Israel to reason 
with him as to the perfect cure of sin which is warranted 
by his salvation — a Come," he says, " let us reason togeth- 
er," as friend reasons with friend; and then his merciful 
power to save to the uttermost is revealed : " Though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool." Samuel, the God-chosen prophet of Israel, stand- 
ing between the people and their Creator, exhorted them to 
reason with him before the Lord concerning the righteous 
acts of the Lord ; and his argument was beneficial to Israel in 
convincing them of their errors. (1 Samuel xii., 7). Job, 
also (xiii., 3), desired to reason with God, and "the man 
of Uz," much afflicted and at fault in his language, was 
eventually brought to a truer knowledge of God and his 
purpose, by the divine argument, than he had ever be- 
fore possessed, and was more supremely blessed after his 
conviction than at any former period of his life. It is in- 
deed profitable to reason with God, for in all such contro- 
versy, conducted on man's part with meekness and rever- 
ence, wisdom — heavenly wisdom — is imparted to the soul. 
But some person will perhaps say that his reason is un- 
able to grasp Bible truths and reconcile them with human 
wisdom. Be sure, dear friend, if this is the thought of 
your heart, that no one more than yourself needs the aid 
of heavenly wisdom. Your soul is veiled with unbelief, 
and the scales have not yet fallen from your eyes. You 
have never, then, (if you are sincere in your assertion) 



106 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

seen all around you souls perishing with sin and needing 
a salvation that no human power or invention can devise. 
You have never, then, felt your own wickedness, your 
own need of deliverance, your own inability to save your- 
self from the penalties that your infraction of the offended 
laws of God will surely inflict upon you if you die un- 
converted. You are deeply enshrouded in darkness that 
may be felt. The light of truth, the joy of salvation, have 
no place in your heart ; you are living " without hope and 
without God in the world." It is indeed time for you to 
awaken out of your fatal slumber to reason, first, with 
yourself, and then with God, asking, " Whither am I tend- 
ing?" 

If such is your darkened condition of soul, perhaps 
you also say, " I cannot believe in all the historical por- 
tions of the Bible, many of its miracles, the vicarious 
atonement of Christ, or the sufficiency of it to save me 
from sin and its consequences. I would if I could, but 
really I cannot" 

But, friend, you are a reasonable creature. You exer- 
cise sound reason in everyday transactions ; yea, you ex- 
ercise faith daily in many things that you read and hear. 
You say that you have never seen any person who has re- 
turned from beyond the grave, and so how are you to 
know whether there is a heaven or a hell? Very well. 
Now have you ever been to Siberia, or have you ever seen 
and conversed with an inhabitant of that dreary, frozen 
country, or with any person who ever visited it ? Possibly 
not, and yet you have probably read descriptions of it in 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 107 

the writings of others who, like yourself, have never been 
there. All the descriptions of the country by these vari- 
ous writers, however, strangers, probably, to each other 
as well as to you. so correspond that you are easily in- 
duced to believe whatever they have written. In this 
particular }'Ou exhibit a faith in humanity which if be- 
stowed upon the Bible with equal fullness as the word of 
God would bring you very nigh to the kingdom of heav- 
en. It is true that while thousands do believe the Bible, 
and ask for it the fullest credence, thousands, like your- 
self, doubt its claims to their confidence, even with the 
same evidences that human works of travel and history 
offer for belief. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

Not many years ago a party ol lawyers voluntarily 
associated themselves together to settle the question 
whether the evidence which the Bible contains within 
itself is sufficient to establish its claims to popular belief. 
These men were not Christians, but wise in matters per- 
taining to their profession. They read the Bible together ; 
they debated its statements and teachings in detail ; they 
scrutinized it in all its parts with legal precision ; and when 
the investigation was closed, they rendered a verdict that 
its truths and claims to human confidence are self-sus- 
tained. 



108 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

Now the principal points upon which the Bible claims 
universal belief are the history of man's fall through dis- 
obedience to God ; the penalties incurred by his wicked- 
ness; the necessity of a substitute to suffer for sinful men 
lest the entire race should perish ; the fullness of salvation 
of those who accept Christ as their Redeemer and cease 
from their rebellion against God; the glorious promises 
of present peace and future happiness of the faithful re- 
deemed ones, and the certain punishment that will over- 
take the ungodly. Faith in the Bible includes all these 
positions and propositions, and has for its object the sal- 
vation which it offers through acceptance of the Redeem- 
er. The object thus presented is one that for value and 
excellence surpasses all the other things which men pos- 
sess and admire, for its worth and virtue extend through- 
out life, death and eternity, while all other objects on 
earth are valuable only during our existence on this side 
of the grave. It therefore becomes, or should become, to 
each individual the " pearl of great price " mentioned by 
the Saviour in one of his parables, (Matthew xiii., 45, 46,) 
for which the wise merchant sold all his other possessions 
in order to secure it for his own. Faith having an object 
of such great value — the privilege of dwelling with the 
Lord forever in a condition of the highest joy, through 
free grace — makes it the purpose of the believer to obtain 
it at the gospel price ; and no sooner is this faith, this pur- 
pose, manifested than the power, wisdom and love of God 
flow into the soul to strengthen it, and secure the jewel of 
its desire. 



SCRIP AND STAFF 109 

In bringing about this happy result, the convert's will 
has been exercised as certainly as it would have been in 
any business transaction. The heart has felt its needs, and 
sought relief; the will has become fixed in that direction ; 
faith rests sweetly in the Saviour's love, and hope inspires 
the soul. The convert has reasoned with God and become 
convinced of his errors and the truths of the Bible. He 
has " come to himself " in the spiritual sense, and now, as 
he strives to meet the conditions of salvation, his will, his 
desires and faith are brought into unison with God, and 
the new birth is complete. 

On the other hand, if there is no desire to be saved — 
no heart-felt need of a change in the life — there is no ob- 
ject presented for which the soul is inclined to seek — no pur- 
pose to obtain salvation in the Bible manner ; there is no 
faith — no life, for the soul is " dead in trespasses and sins." 
In this condition, too, there may be more than passive in- 
difference to the welfare of the soul, and prejudice take 
the place of indifference. When a man says : " I would 
believe if I could, but such a belief is opposed by my rea- 
son," there is cause for the suspicion that he does not 
mean his reason, but rather his prejudices, which will not 
permit him to exercise an honest judgment, and that he 
does not wish to believe, for if he did he would have to 
relinquish his prejudices. And to an obstinate mind noth- 
ing can be more distressing than yielding up its deeply- 
rooted prejudices, even under the conviction that they are 
wrong. 

The religion of the Bible is duplex in its character. 



110 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

The '* new covenant," like the old, is incomplete unless its 
terms are accepted and fulfilled with the simplicity and 
submission of children. a Except ye be converted, and 
become as little children," said the Redeemer, (Matthew 
xviii.,3) "ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
The seeker after salvation must repent, believe and obey, 
and then God bestows his mercy, love and eternal life. 
Like all contracts, this covenant must have two parties to 
it — one the needy applicant ; the other his reconciled G-od. 
Everything depends upon meeting the conditions, as pre- 
scribed in the scriptures. A man may say, " I am going 
to San Francisco ;" and he may even purchase his ticket, 
secure a berth in a sleeping-car, and carefully pack his 
trunk for the journey and send it to the depot; but if he 
refuses to leave his house and go to the train at the ap- 
pointed time and place, he will never get to San Francis- 
co, simply because he does not fulfil the conditions of the 
railroad company. What he has done is important for a 
safe and comfortable ride across the continent, but it is not 
enough. He does not start. So many persons express a 
determination to go to heaven, and exercise some of the 
means necessary to obtain its glories. If they manifest 
only a fruitless faith, a mere mental concession that Christ 
died to save sinners, and still continue to live in sin, they 
are like the traveler who stays at home when he should 
be hastening to the train. Very different, however, is the 
case of the man who, with an earnest, sincere determina- 
tion to win an entrance into heaven, beseeches God's mer- 
cy upon his soul, and comes to the throne of grace with 



SCRIP AND STAFF. Ill 

godly sorrow, humility, meekness, and a heart tender with 
submission to God's will. 

Philip H was a student in an eastern seminary 

— a lad possessing a good intellect, but manifesting a most 
remarkable degree of depravity for one so young. At six- 
teen he was a sot and a foul blasphemer from choice, roll- 
ing the vilest profanity like a sweet morsel under his 
tongue, proud of his vices, and openly refusing good coun- 
sels. The school was an excellent one. Its influences 
were cast in favor of morality and religion. About the 
time that Philip was preparing to leave it forever and re- 
turn home, a religious revival occurred in the school and 
neighborhood. All the students except himself had been 
converted to Christ. But Philip refused to seek salva- 
tion, notwithstanding the prayers and labors of his teach- 
ers and classmates in his behalf. The last day of the term 
arrived and Philip was still unconverted. At that late 
hour the Holy Spirit strove with him earnestly. The 
wickedness of his life was sensibly felt, but self-will 
had also a share in his conviction. " I am going away 
from here/' he said, " with the worst record of any boy in 
the school. To-night the last pray er -meeting will be held ; 
Twill be there and be saved.'' His determination was 
to make a thorough reformation of his life. He would 
start anew. There was at first no godly sorrow for his 
past career, but the desire of his soul was a changed 
life — a new character with which to leave the seminary. 
He was at the evening meeting; went forward for pray- 
ers, was deeply convicted, and soundly converted — re- 



112 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

ceiving salvation because he needed it — receiving it 
as a free gift. On these terms God's mercy and 
grace were obtained, because for once his own will and 
that of his offended Creator were in earnest unison. 
His conversion was thorough, for he met the conditions 
that his case required ; and when 1 last met with him he 
was engaged in preaching the everlasting gospel of peace . 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE DUTY OF WORSHIPING GOD THE ELEMENTS OF TRUE 

DEVOTION. 

True worship has gratitude for its foundation. There 
must be a sense of obligation in the heart when it is lifted 
up to worship God — an appreciation of past mercies re- 
ceived that manifests itself in thankfulness. The gratitude 
may not extend beyond temporal blessings, but even this 
is acceptable to God. An irreligious man was accustomed 
alwa3 7 s to say reverently at the end of every meal, " Thank 
God for my dinner ! " or any other regular repast. That 
was his way of worshiping God. It is not known that he 
ever prayed, but the expression of his thankfulness in this 
respect was undoubtedly sincere and hearty. Had he ever 
felt the pangs of an awakened conscience, it is probable that 
he would have gone to the acknowledged source of his 
sustenance for forgiveness, and found peace for his soul. 
On the other hand, the converted man finds much more of 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 113 

blessing in his life for which to be thankful, and as a result 
of his being reconciled to God through the salvation of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, he worships his Creator with a far 
deeper appreciation of benefits received than any sinner 
can enjoy. 

True devotion to God is also manifested in a lively 
faith. The worshiper must believe that the Bible is the 
word of God ; that the plan of salvation which it reveals is 
perfect and effective ; that the blood of Jesus Christ is a 
sufficient atonement for the sins of all mankind, and that 
the many precious promises written in the scriptures will 
certainly be fulfilled if we are willing to keep the cove- 
nant to the end. There must be faith in the love, the mer- 
cy, the wisdom, and the power of the Creator to save, to 
protect and to bless all who put their trust in him. 

True worship implies perfect submission to the will of 
God. Where there is rebellion in the heart against him 
and his revealed desires, our devotion, however elegantly 
expressed in word and gesture, must fail to please him, 
and places us among the hypocrites whom our Lord, when 
on earth, so severely rebuked. We must be willing to 
say with the agonized Saviour in Gethsemanc, " Not my 
will, but thine be done." In this spirit our worship will 
be perfect and acceptable. Then, in sorrow or in joy, we 
can heartily acknowledge that the will of the Lord is good, 
and that he doeth all things well. 

True worship requires obedience to all the revealed 
commandments of God and the laws of our country and 
the State in which we live. The Bible demands it, and 



114 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

peace follows the practice. To disobey God— to dishonor 
the government under which we live — \o despise whole- 
some laws for the restraint of evil and the promotion of 
virtue and morality — is displeasing to him whom we 
ought to worship. On the other hand, he requires us to 
encourage and sustain his servants in every good work, 
and to assist heartily in every enterprise that has for its 
object the relief of the needy and suffering, and the wel- 
fare of society. 

True worship means supreme love for God and a help- 
ful love for our fellow-beings. There cannot be envy, ha- 
tred or malice in real devotion ; nor pride, vain-glory or 
hypocrisy. Self must be put out of sight in the precious 
hours of worship, at which time praise, thanksgiving, 
and the desire for God to be glorified in all his works and 
ways, should fill our hearts. In prayer we come seeking 
blessings for ourselves and others, but in true worship the 
glory of God and the triumph of his plans form the bur- 
den of our heart-songs. 

Everybody, and especially God's dear children, should 
cultivate this spirit of true devotion. It is due to him 
from all his creatures; let us not, then, withhold from him 
that which is his own, nor hide in a napkin the talent he 
has given, us. The true worshiper alone finds the truest 
ioy on earth, a joy to be continued through all eternity. 



8CRIP AND STAFF. 115 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

BIBLE CHRONOLOGY THE PERSECUTION OF ISRAEL IN EGYPT 

THE AGE OF THE WORLD. 

The ordinary versions of the Scriptures place the date 
of God's promise to Abraham that his seed — he having at 
that time no child — should sojourn in Egypt 400 years, 
and then come forth, at about 1913 or 1911 years before 
Christ. The Bible chronologists differ here. See Genesis 
xv., 12-15. 

In 1706 B. C. (Genesis xlvi., 1-6) God confirmed this 
promise to Jacob (Israel,) at which time, according to the 
common Bible chronology, Jacob and his family — about 
seventy persons — removed from Palestine or Canaan, and 
began their sojourn in Egypt. See, also, Acts vii., 17- 
19. 

The texts relating to the confirmation ot the promise 
to Abraham are Psalm cv., 7-12, and Galatians iii., 16-17, 
with perhaps others. 

Israel left Egypt 430 years after this confirmation, ac- 
cording to Exodus xii., 29-37, 40, 41; Galatians iii., 16, 
17. 

On this point the usual method of computing the 430 



116 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

years of the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt has 
been from the time that the promise was first made (Gen- 
esis xii., 1-10, commonly placed B. C. 1921 or 1923,) in- 
stead of the date at which it was confirmed to Jacob (B.C. 
1706.) For the promulgation of this error see Josephus' 
Antiquities, book 2, chapter xv., section 2; the Septuagint 
translation of Exodus xii., 40, etc. According to all these 
Israel dwelt in Egypt only 215 years, instead of 430, as 
promised to Abraham. 

Concerning this matter,- Rev. A. R. Fausset, in his 
note on Galatians iii., 16, 17, says: " The dispensation of 
the promise began from the call of Abraham from Ur into 
Canaan, and ended on the last night of his grandson Ja- 
cob's sojourn in Canaan, the land of promise .... It is from 
the end, not the beginning of the dispensation of promise, 
that the interval of 430 years between it and the law is to 
be counted." The law was delivered to Moses at Mt. 
Sinai in the third month after the Israelites departed from 
Egypt. 

If Mr. Fausset is right, and his views harmonize with 
Psalm cv., 7-12, and Galatians iii., 16, 17, we may safely 
add 207 years to the commonly received chronology ol 
the New Testament, and place the birth of Jesus in the 
year of the world 4211, instead of 4004 A. M. as is usual- 
ly reckoned. Add the present year of the Christian dis- 
pensation, 1884, and we discover that more than 6000 
years have elapsed since the creation, so that the midnight 
is long past, and the Sabbath morning of the world is about 
to dawn. The signs of the times, according to the word 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 117 

of the Lord, indicate that the triumph ot Christ and his 
redeemed is not far distant. Are we, each of us, ready 
for the coming of the Bridegroom ? 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE THINGS OF GOOD REPORT RECOMMENDED BT ST. 

PAUL. 

In his epistle to the earliest Christian church at Phil- 
ippi the apostle Paul recommended its beloved members, 
with much other wholesome advice, to think on things of 
good report — things of Christ-like character, and approved 
of God and all pure-minded men. (Philippians iv., 8, 9.) 
Paul had but one standard of excellence, and that stand- 
ard he raised on every occasion, and called upon all men 
to admire ami maintain. That standard was Christ in all 
his offices of Redeemer, Mediator and King; Christ in the 
flesh, and at the right hand of God ; Christ in whom he 
could do all things, bear all things, and hope for all things. 
He could see more excellence in Christ than almost any 
other man of his times, and in the power of his love and 
admiration for his blessed Master he distinguished him- 
self as a faithful worker in his vinej^ard. Succeeding ages 
of the followers of Christ have greatly honored the man 
who was so sincere, so earnest, so patient in his ministry. 

The things of good report are many; so many, indeed, 
that if men would but consider them as earnestly and con- 
stantly as they should, the contemplation of them would 

8 



118 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

drive from the mind all meaner thoughts. But these 
things of good report, as viewed from the Bible stand- 
point, are opposed to the follies and fashions of the world 
in such a degree that they are not appreciated as they 
should be by the masses of mankind. There is a tacit ac- 
knowledgement that they are good things, and much glit- 
tering sentimentality has been expended upon them, in 
prose and verse, in the pulpit and out of it, but until the 
human heart is converted from sinfulness to righteousness, 
as Paul's was, human understandings cannot fathom their 
meaning or their value. 

Among the things of good report upon which the 
Scriptures recommend us to meditate, are the truths which 
the Bible reveals to every seeker after truth ; whatever is 
honest before God and man; whatever is just, and pure, 
and lovely, and virtuous ; and as all these things are but 
elements of the Christian life, we have the promise that 
if we think upon and do them, the God of peace shall be 

with us. 

Does the unconverted soul hesitate, and say, with a 

feeling of abasement^ these things are too good — I can 
never attain to such excellence as the Bible recommends? 
Remember that Paul, who called himself the chief of sin- 
ners, and persecuted the church of Christ, and killed its 
members by his officious zeal againt them, said, in after- 
years, when he was himself a persecuted Christian, "lean do 

all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." No man 
understood his own weakness, his own un worthiness, better 
than Paul, and yet in his faith and love for Christ he 
could triumph even over death. 



SCRIP AND STAFF 119 

In another epistle (G-alatians v.,) Paul advises the fol- 
lowers of Christ to "walk in the Spirit" — that is, in the 
light and teachings of the Holy Ghost — "and }^e shall not 
fulfill the law of the flesh; for the flesh lusteth against the 
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are con- 
trary one to the other." In this connection he names 
(verses .19, 20, 21) the works of the flesh, a fearful cata- 
logue of common sins in which the wicked find delight. 
Then, in strong and brilliant contrast to these soul-destroy- 
ing iniquities, he places for our consideration the fruit of 
the Spirit produced in the soul of the converted man — 
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
meekness and temperance — virtues against which there is 
no law — things approved by God, and of good report 
among the angels of heaven. 

Again, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul calls 
our attention to other things of good report which form 
an important portion of the Christian character, and which 
it will do us good to think about earnestly and obedient- 
ly. He is writing, in the thirteenth chapter, of the active 
love, or charity, which God desires to have abound in the 
hearts of his children; that love that suffereth long, and is 
kind; that envieth not; that doth not boast, and is not 
puffed up with pride ; that doth not behave itself unseemly, 
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no 
evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; 
beareth all things, believeth all things (that God and com- 
mon sense teach us to believe,) hopeth all things, endur- 
eth all things, and never faileth; which is the greatest of 
all virtues. 



120 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

The Bible is full of wisdom to which all men ought to 
attain, and will help us to gain it if we search diligently 
for it with meek hearts and due reverence. It is a com- 
mon-sense book, so plainly revealing the truth of God 
that even the weak-minded and ignorant may be benefited 
by it, It is a book to be studied carefully and constant- 
ly, with the best results to the honest seeker. It is a book 
to be prized above all other books, for it teaches us how 
to live and how to die. It is Christ's legacy to us, to be 
dearly cherished until he comes again. " Think on these 
things." 



CHAPTER XXX1Y. 

THE SINS OF GREAT CITIES — NINEVEH AND CHICAGO COM- 
PARED. 

The sins of Nineveh and of Sodom were many — so 
many that God blotted both out of existence by fire. The 
sins of Nineveh and Sodom are rife in Chicago, and Chi- 
cago knows something of the horrors of destruction by 
fire. The parallel between Nineveh and Chicago, judging 
from the prophecies of God, by the pens of Nahum and 
Zephaniah, and the sacred historians, is very close. 

Nineveh was twenty miles long and twelve broad, and 
would have required a "belt railroad" sixty miles in 
length to surround it. It was not only the capital city of 
prosperous Assyria, but a metropolis remarkable for the 
number of its inhabitants, its strength, its grandeur, its 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 121 

wealth, and its wickedness. Long before its final destruc- 
tion God sent his servant Jonah to arouse its citizens to a 
sense of their danger by preaching the shortest and most 
effective sermon on record : " Yet forty days and Nine- 
veh shall be destro}*ed." Well did the people know the 
cause of this threatened judgment upon the city. The 
king, the municipal authorities and the inhabitants were 
deeply convicted of their sins, truly repented and re- 
formed, and Nineveh became a monument of God's mer- 
cy, fur then he spared it. But alter a season the city re- 
lapsed into its former sinfulness, and became a stench in 
the nostrils of God. His mercy was turned to fury, and 
the city was completely destroyed, about six hundred 
years before Christ. "This is the rejoicing city that 
dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is 
none beside me; how is she become a desolation, a place 
for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her 
shall hiss and wag his hand! Wo to her that is filthy and 
polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the 
voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the 
Lord ; she drew not near to her God! " — Zephaniah ii., 15 ; 
iii., 1, 2. 

Chicago to-day is sinning, like Nineveh, against the 
light of God and the gospel of truth. Look at our three 
thousand whisky-shops ; our hundreds of gambling rooms ; 
our open and increasing desecration of the Sabbath; our 
pleasure-seeking in all God-forbidden places and methods ; 
our idolatry of money ; our indifference to holy things, and 
general irreverence and blasphemy towards God; and then 



122 SCRIP 1ND STAFF. 

let us ask ourselves, where will these things end? It is true 
that God does not sit in judgment against the nations ev- 
ery day, but in his sight the wicked are already con- 
demned, and he has appointed a day in which he will 
judge the world, and that without mercy towards those 
who have willfully disobeyed. It is true that he has many 
faithful servants here who cry aloud against our social 
sins ; it is true that the gospel of salvation is preached 
throughout all the city, but these warnings and promises 
fall upon deaf ears and veiled hearts, even if they are 
heard at all. The church and the world have joined their 
hands in pleasure-seeking for the increase o f church funds 
and influence, and vital religion is smothered in the houses 
of its professed friends. The Bible is read almost every- 
where, but it is a sealed book to thousands, for they will 
not earnestly search the Scriptures for themselves. The 
Thomases and the Ingersolls are looked up to as intelli- 
gent, religious leaders, but they offer nothing so touching, so 
pure, so effective, as the simple words of Christ : "Come unto 
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for" 
I am meek and lowly in heart ; and ye shall find rest unto 
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 
(Matthew xi., 28-30.) " For whosoever shall do the will 
of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, 
and sister, and mother." (Matthew xii., 50.) But it was 
the same Lord and Saviour who said, " Except ye repent, 
ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke xiii., 3, 5.) This 
was the condition upon which Nineveh was once saved , 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 123 

Irom destruction ; for want of repentance it was blotted 
out of existence. Will Chicago heed the lesson ? 

Individual repentance and reform can alone shield the 
sinner from individual destruction. Upon such the pre- 
cious blood of Christ is freely poured with saving and 
cleansing power. Then " turn ye, turn ye — why will ye 
die?" 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



TWO FABLES THE SIN OF COVETOUSNESS ADVERSITY NOT 

ALWAYS AN EVIL. 

COVETOUSNESS. 

Of all the sins against which God has set his face and 
his especial commandment, there is none more despicable 
in the individual than covetousness. The apostle Paul 
denounces it as idolatry. It is born of a spirit that would 
lead one to convert to his own use the property of his 
neighbor, did not the law forbid; and, indeed, where the 
moral discipline is not sufficiently strong to withstand 
temptation, the next step in the course of wickedness is 
theft itself. The careful parent should look with serious- 
ness upon the early exhibition of a disposition so fraught 
with evil and born of selfishness ; and if by friendly coun- 
sels he cannot disgust his child with a sin so mean and 
dangerous as covetousness, he may tremble for the future 
character of his offspring. Its danger lies in the great va- 
riety of ways in which it may assail one, at all times, and 



124 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

the certainty of its leading, under unchecked indulgence, 
to worse offenses and the most disastrous consequences. 
These sorrowful results are recorded day by day in the 
newspapers, in ihe embezzlement of public and private 
funds, the squandering of trust-moneys, and the defalca- 
tions of numerous bank officers. The blandishments of 
wealth, the indulgence of vanity, especially as regards dress, 
ornaments or other sources of personal gratification, are apt 
to engender in youthful minds and in the breasts of the idle 
and unstable an unlawful longing for the property of others 
often considered harmless, but ultimately inducing extrav- 
agance and discontent, if not quickly counteracted by bet- 
ter influences. 

A FABLE. 

Covetousness and her brother, Theft, one day rambled 
through the streets of a great city. Covetousness found 
many things to admire, and desired to possess them, but 
was restained by a fear of shame. Not so, however, with 
Theft; for whenever Covetousness expressed a wish for 
anything that Humanity cherished, Theft, watching his 
opportunity, would seize upon it and secrete it about his 
person. After a time the thief was detected, and he 
and Covetousness shared equal punishment for the 
crime in which both had equally participated. 

ANOTHER FABLE ADVERSITY NOT ALWAYS AN EVIL. 

Adversity visited Humanity, who had long enjoyed 
great possessions, and after expelling Prosperity, who had 
been the guardian of Humanity, cruelly began to lay 
waste the property of the latter. His barns and stacks 



bvJRIP AND STAFF. 125 

were burned, his herds and flocks perished with famine and 
disease, his crops failed, and he and his family became beg- 
gars. Adversity did not yet leave them. Hovering near, 
as they wandered through the morass of Despondenc} 7 , he 
pointed out the Hill of Contentment, on the further side, 
and there they beheld the bright form of Peace beckoning 
them to the summit, where stood the Temple of Joy. En- 
couraged by the sight, with renewed energy the unfortu- 
nate family soon emerged from the morass, and hastened 
up the hillside, still attended b} 7 Adversity. As they 
reached the portals of the temple and knelt there in grati- 
tude, Adversity disappeared, leaving them in the enjoy- 
ment of happiness at the change which had been so singu- 
larly wrought in their condition. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

GLANCES AT CHRISTIAN LIFE AND LABORS ORDINANCES OF 

THE CHURCH. 

The sunlight glimmers through a crevice in the shut- 
ter of the old church window opposite to which we sit this 
first glad Sunday morning of summer, and as it creeps 
across the aisle and falls inside our pew, we hail it as a fa- 
vorable omen of the Lord's day. Now it shines directly 
upon the open Bible beside us, illuminating, like a gleam 
of glory, this favorite verse: "He that overcometh shall 
inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be- 



126 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

my son." (Rev. xxi., 7.) We accept the omen, with an 
ejaculation of gratitude and praise for the gospel prom- 
ises. 

There is a little child, not yet three months conversant 
with the affairs of its earth-life, whom its parents are about 
to consecrate to the service of its Saviour, for the glory 
of the Father, 03?" the rite of baptism. As soon as the good 
clergyman has offered his opening prayer, and the people 
have sung a hymn of praise, the infant, innocent and 
helpless, will be commended to the favor of its Creator 
and Redeemer. 

We are not special pleaders for the necessity of bap- 
tizing our children before they reach a degree of respon- 
sibility that can distinguish wrong as opposed to right. 
In truth, ever since the Master took little children into his 
arms, blessing them as children never were blessed before, 
they have been the earthly symbols of a spirit that can 
qualify us for the kingdom of heaven — a spirit without 
which, the Redeemer tells us, we cannot enter therein. 
To consecrate them in their innocency to their Friend and 
Intercessor is but an humble acknowledgment of our obli- 
gations to him for the love and mercy ever manifested to- 
ward us and ours; but so far as baptism is required to in- 
sure the eternal happiness of the child, should the Father 
early call it home to himself, we are constrained to con- 
sider it as a ceremony that (in this respect) possesses no es- 
pecial efficacy. Its baptism, however, in view of the sa- 
cred vows of its parents in its behalf, serves to draw their 
hearts still closer to the Saviour, and forms a new link 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 127 

in the silken chain that binds the Christian to the throne 
of God. 



To-day, the first Sabbath of the month, occurs the 
usual celebration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; 
and the spirit of the text, as of the occasion, enters largely 
into the sermon : 

" This is my commandment, that ye love one another, 
as I have loved you." 

Christian love is deeply rooted in our pastor's heart, 
and his lips and daily life bear witness to its holy influ- 
ences. It is his belief (and why should it not be that of 
others ?) that heaven will be, for those who are permitted 
to reach it, a scene of never-ending joy and love; not so 
much of rest — especially not of idleness, as many are prone 
i;o hope and pray ; a place and condition where the affec- 
tions, spiritualized and sanctified by divine grace, will 
gain an intensity that we, in the body, cannot realize. 
There we shall expect to find everything blissful, with 
that cessation of onerous labor and care which our bodies 
so incessantly crave ; but we shall no more need rest than 
we shall light, because fatigue and darkness will alike be 
iorever banished from that blessed domain. 

Christian love and Christian unity! — a heaven of joy 
lies in our feeble understanding of those enduring princi- 
ples. That love which is diffused throughout the universe 
from the Great White Throne — that unity which binds us 
closer than brethren and sisters to the Lord Jesus who has 
redeemed us from eternal misery, who washes away our 



128 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

sins in his precious blood, and who acknowledges us before 
his Father as worthy heirs of his kingdom forever ! An- 
gels attune their harps in praise of this glorious fellowship 
and love, enjoying it in full fruition in the realms of the 
blessed, while we yet grope in the dimness of earthly 
life, lighted only by our comfortable and sufficing faith. 

And so the simple elements of bread and wine become 
to-day a bond of affinity between man and his fellow-men 
that no evil power can sever, against which not even hell 
itself can prevail, and which, by its mysterious and sacred 
influence draws the human spirit nearer to its God ! 



Suppose a Christian man should resolve that ev- 
ery day, at a certain hour, he will seat himself at the j unc- 
tion of two busy streets in his town or city, and there read 
aloud, without note or comment, our Saviour's Sermon 
on the Mount. He has the sanction of the civil authori- 
ties, and the spirit of his Master in repeating his gracious 
words. Is not this missionary labor ? Week after week r 
in the same place, and at the same hour, the reader pre- 
sents, in a clear, earnest voice, the beatitudes, the pure 
lessons and solemn warnings of our Lord. Not a word of 
his own, or of himself, or aught but the scripture selected, 
does he utter. He has prayed that his ministrations may 
Ibe acceptable to God, and beneficial to his fellow-men, and 
he leaves the result with his Creator. 

Curiosity to learn what he is doing will naturally at- 
tract the attention of the people toward him. Distinctly 
and reverently he gives utterance to those beautiful sen- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 129 

tences which mean so much, and whose issues are eternal 
life or endless destruction. A Christian stops and listens 
for a moment, bearing away with him a blessed promise 
to cheer him in his day's industry. A laborer, ignorant 
and blasphemous, rests for a few seconds, leaning on his 
pickaxe, and hears his sin of profanity solemnly rebuked, 
and it recurs to his memory afterwards, and condemns 
him a dozen times that day, as he gives vent to his sense- 
less oaths. The busy, money-loving man scarcely halts, 
as he passes, to call the reader " a fool " for idling away 
his time in that manner. A Jesuit priest listens to a verse 
and mutters, as he hastens on and shrugs his shoulders, 
about u that old corrupt Greek version." A rude youth 
flings a word of derision at the reader, hears the forty- 
fourth verse of the fifth chapter of Matthew, and becomes 
quiet and thoughtful. A freethinker smiles contemptu- 
ously as he goes by, but he carries with him in his con- 
science a poignant sting, for he has heard how the whole 
body may be cast into hell. The dilatory servant learns 
that he cannot acceptably serve two masters at once. The 
sensual man and woman hear their wickedness denounced. 
The feeble saint receives fresh courage as he remembers 
that he is to " take no thought for the morrow " with re- 
gard to his needs, and walks on with a deeper trust in his 
Heavenly Father's loving-kindness and protecting care. 

Thus the simple work goes on, and Bible truths are 
scattered far and wide, with more or less blessed effect, as 
they fall upon good or stony hearts. The seed is sown. 
Paul may plant, and Apollos water. The people may hail 



130 SCKIP AND STAFF. 

the word with gladness, or presumptuously refuse to re- 
ceive it. God knows all about it. But so it has been in 
all ages. What the result may be, he knows also, and it 
will add to his glory, even through the wrath of men. 
Aye, though the reader be reviled and spit upon, as was 
his Saviour, or be stoned to death, as was Stephen , by the 
populace, God's word is sure to remain and prosper. 



A good many of the troubles of human life arise from 
a disregard of the scriptural injunction, " Be content with 
such things as ye have." It is so natural to desire changes 
in our circumstances and surroundings, and so easy to find 
fault with the station of life in which we are placed, that 
the idea of gaining something better often becomes a ruling 
passion, leading us to do things for that purpose that 
greatly increase our annoyances and real troubles, without 
producing the benefit we anticipated. A contented spirit 
is better than a kingdom. " Man wants but little here be- 
low, nor wants that little long." A little that a poor man 
has and enjoys, is better than an abundance of worldly 
prosperity with great care, anxiety and discontent. The 
necessities of the body are easily supplied, but its fancied 
wants (especially if unrestrained by grace) often draw 
heavily upon the best-filled purse. 



We speak, with the apostle, of u fervent prayer," "ef- 
fective prayer," and " prevailing prayer," which in reality 
possess the same meaning. In either case this sort of 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 131 

prayer is founded on temporal and spiritual human needs 
and divine grace, mercy and peace, purchased for us in the 
redemption of the world by the Lord Jesus Christ. Fer- 
vency is but the expression of earnestness and sincerity, 
and a prominent feature in effective or prevailing prayer. 
See James v., 15-18, compared with Matthew vi., 5-15. 
And that prayer will be the most effective and prevailing 
to which the Lord, at its close, can utter the "Amen." 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

SOME MEMORIES OF A BEAUTIFUL CHARACTER. 

Fannie C died in the vicinity of Chicago, Sep- 
tember 13, 1880, aged twenty -three years and three 
months. 

This young woman possessed within herself many of 
the elements of true greatness, although her name is not 
written in the lists of famous women. In her brief exist- 
ence there was no childhood, as in the lives of other girls 
— that period when most children find pleasure in childish 
amusements and pursuits. Favored with an intellect far 
in advance of her juvenile years, she found continuous de- 
light in literary and other mature avocations, and under 
these circumstances her childhood and youth were, at an 
early day, merged into a gentle womanhood, rich in ener- 
gy, patience, and amiability. 

For those who knew her best her life had a wondrous 
charm, as she gradually developed those traits of charac- 



132 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

ter which made her beautiful, and endeared her to all 
around her. 

The fashions and follies of the world found no place in 
her esteem. While she was the warm Mend of all who 
claimed human sympathy, she was scrupulous in the choice 
of her companions. Her moral perceptions were exquisite. 
The vulgar and unclean might excite her pity, but she 
shrank from fellowship with whatever was debasing to hu- 
manit}'. At all times she found delight in "whatsoever 
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report." 
Oppression and deceit were especial abominations in her 
sight. 

In the days of her prosperous youth it was her priv- 
ilege to travel extensively in and along the coasts of 
her own country, and the benefits derived from these 
journeys were manifested in the maturity of her after- 
years. 

Of course, a mind like hers sought frequent companion- 
ship in books, and while her reading was limited, it was 
always of the elevating order of literature, and not the or- 
dinary trash of the circulating library. Prominent among 
her favorite books was the New Testament, in whose 
pages she found congenial sentiments, the spirit of which 
seemed to enter largely into her every-day life. Very no- 
ticeable was the child-like confidence which she reposed in 
the wisdom and goodness of her Heavenly Father to 
order all things aright; and when, through adverse cir- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 133 

cumstances, she was plunged into deep affliction, and her 
domestic cares were greatly increased, she never mur- 
mure^, but her faith in God, and her gratitude to him for 
all his mercies, were distinguishing characteristics of her 
mind. 

Success as a literary writer was her ruling ambition, 
and she possessed a talent in this direction that, under 
more favorable circumstances of life, might have won for 
her fame and competence. Even without the advantages 
that wealth and a higher education would have bestow- 
ed upon her, there was a positive merit in her literary 
creations. 

But it was in her social and filial relations that her real 
nobility of character was most attractive. There was no 
selfishness in her composition. To make those around her 
happy, comfortable, pure, and reputable, she often sacri- 
ficed her own comfort and happiness ; and by her devotion 
to her family interests she lost her health and went down 
to the grave, deeply mourned by those who had enjoyed 
her sympathy and love. Of her it can indeed be truth- 
fully said that she lived and died for the^dear ones of her 
humble household. 

Peace to her ashes ! The home bereaved by her death 
sadty misses her, but the memory of her virtues is like 
a precious odor, filling the places which shall know her no 
more forever. 



134 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

A GOOD GENIUS THE POSITION OF LABOR AND LABORERS 

IN SOCIETY. 

Before Adam it existed. With him it tilled the gar- 
den of Eden. With his sons it established altars of wor- 
ship, and laid the foundations of society. When Noah 
constructed the ark, it assisted him through all those long 
years in which men laughed him to scorn ; with him it es- 
caped the dangers of the flood, and with him and his prog- 
eny it aided in redeeming from destruction a drowned 
world, and in bringing it to a new perfection. When the 
tower of Babel was reared on the plains of Shinar, it add- 
ed stone to stone, until the confusion of tongues forever 
put an end to the erection of that wonderful structure. 
It was with the children of Israel while they languished in 
bondage under the tyranny of Pharaoh. For them it gath- 
ered straw and cla}^, and by its aid they formed the Egyp- 
tian bricks. When Solomon erected the temple of Jeru- 
salem, it was there and assisted in its construction, as well 
as in beautifying it for worship. 

Nations have arisen at its behest. The palaces of 
kings, the hovels of the poor, the temples of the pious, and 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 135 

the stables of the brute, have all sprung into existence by- 
its magical power. The arts and sciences are indebted to 
it for the first steam-engine, the first mill, the first vessel, 
the first telegraph, the first railway, the first steamboat, 
and not one has since been built without its aid. It laid 
the keel and fashioned the iron frame of the Great East- 
ern ; it piled the huge pyramids of Egj^pt ; it carved the 
Sphynx ; it reared the crystal palaces of mighty nations, 
and set its throne therein; it wrought all weapons of of- 
fense and defense; it builds the homes of peace, plows the 
fields, sows the broad acres, reaps the full harvest; wove 
the sensitive electric cables that underlie the seas, and 
shows its power and skillfulness in the great public edifices 
of the world. 

It is always busy. Deep in the mountain tunneb ; in 
the dark mines of the far-off territories and foreign lands ; 
in city and in forests ; on hill-tops and in valleys, on farms, 
on board of ships in every quarter of the globe ; in work- 
shops and studios, and wherever mankind congregates, 
there it is found, and by its aid are established our com- 
merce, our means of travel, and all our institutions of 
worship, education, reform and punishment. 

It adds dignity to honesty, and comfort to leisure. To 
the poor it is a firm friend, to the rich a faithful servant. 
It lives for all men, despised by many, but honored by 
more, making enviable reputations for its adherents, and 
ever giving its influence for the progress of the human 
race. Deprive the earth of its presence, and chaos would 
return. It is the heritage of the good, and the enemy of 



136 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

vice. All men live by it, and without it life, here and 
hereafter, would be miserable. It is not a myth, but a 
glorious reality — the good genius of mankind, and its 
name is — Labor. 



" Labor is prayer," erroneously wrote an enthusiast. 
" Labor is safety, honor and wealth," say the political 
economists. In the stern duty established by divine 
wisdom — " Six days shalt thou labor," and the monition 
of the same high authority — " Whatsoever thy hand find- 
eth to do, do it with thy might," are the key-notes of 
human progress in the arts and sciences. 

The toil to which the first man and his seed were con- 
demned by their Creator for disobedience served to awa- 
ken new impulses in the hearts of succeeding generations. 

# 
In those early ages light had not come into the world as 

it has now. Intellect was cast in ruder moulds. Muscle 
predominated. The germs of many inventions lay dor- 
mant in human minds. To-day we are building upon the 
deep foundations of the past, fulfilling the visions of the 
ancient seers. Knowledge has increased, and u the sweat 
of the face, " whereby man was destined to gain bread, 
has become the evidence of honorable thrift — the seal of 
individual and national success in secular progress. 

In the past (and sometimes in the present age), while 
mankind have not withheld their homage to genius, nor 
failed to appreciate the substantial triumphs of labor, they 
have been too apt to forget the interests Of the laborer, if 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 137 

not to ignore his existence ; to undervalue him as a fellow- 
being as, day by day, he sold his strength in a subordi- 
nate position for the means wherewith to purchase food 
for his household, — whose skill fashions the rich cornice 
or rears enduring walls, stone by stone, and, obedient to 
the will of knowledge, in the behalf of capital, erects " a 
temple where a god might dwell." Sir Christopher Wren 
is dead, and so are the workmen who shaped and piled the 
foundations of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Sir Chris- 
topher lives on in history ; the names of his laborers are 
forgotten. 

The United States of America, rejoicing in more than 
a century of federal government, and marvelous!}* pros- 
perous and honored as a nation, has solved the problem 
whether there is in the people sufficient integrity to gov- 
ern themselves, and at the same time has advanced cred- 
itably in the arts and sciences. Since the birth of the na- 
tion a host of antiquated notions have been revolutionized ; 
and, embracing the largest portion of a continent, it con- 
tinues to offer peaceful homes and profitable employment 
to people whose rights and privileges have been too great- 
ly restricted in their native lands. Under any other sys- 
tem of government the same progress might have required 
a thousand years. 

But while the adaptation of federal institutions to all 
the needs of our country has been made strikingly mani- 
fest, not less apparent or important is the part performed 
in this national exaltation by manual labor. Protected 
by beneficent laws, untrammeled by the exactions of an 



138 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

idle and dissipated aristocracy, the American laborer has 
enjo} 7 ed educational opportunities unknown abroad; and 
his intelligence, observation and skill have proportionately 
increased with his advantages. Indeed, in this country, 
skillful and educated workmen are the rule rather than the 
exception. Here the majority of the artisans can vary 
their employments as circumstances dictate, and thus earn 
a subsistence, if nothing more, when their legitimate avo- 
cations are not so remunerative. Nor is the mechanic, in 
his proper pursuits, so strictly confined to departmental 
business as in other countries. Here his ingenuity and 
skill may find scope in making anything from a pin to a 
steam-engine. His talents are not circumscribed, # but 
rmiy take a wide and practical range and strike out new 
paths in any field of industry through which his genius 
and inclinations lead him. Seeking information through 
legitimate channels, the intelligent artisan may win for 
labor that respect which it ought to claim in any nation 
that seeks to achieve greatness, wealth and public credit. 
Here, also, capital is usually controlled by practical men, 
and finds a thousand avenues for profitable investment, so 
that labor is generally in good demand. Hence the pub- 
lic poor-house is despised, except as a home for broken- 
down mendicants, and the manhood of the workman is 
not crushed out by heartless overseers. The laborer is 
therefore enabled to rise superior to all the obstacles of 
ignorance and poverty, and gain independence and com- 
petency. His children are taught at the public expense, 
and trained (if they will) in morals and industry at the 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 139 

Sunday and sewing-schools; his opinions and rights are 
respected by the most influential and wealthy members of 
society, and his vote can carry weight in the improve- 
ment of his own condition, as well as that of the nation. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

The American politician who designated the laborers 
of this country as the " mudsills " of our social fabric gave 
utterance to the expression with a bitterness that he meant 
should be overwhelming. It fell as harmlessly upon the 
objects of his denunciation as water cast upon the ground. 
It has passed into history, but it injured no one, unless it 
was the man who uttered it. 

The writer was for years familiar with the operations 
of the police court of the city ot Chicago, and became cog- 
nizant of the fact that the vicious, degraded and discon- 
tented who there, day after day, underwent penalties for 
infractions of various ordinances were usually not of the 
industrial classes. The worst prisoners were those who 
preferred to live by their vices, wear good clothing and 
" flashy " jewelry, and had hands as soft as those of idle 
women. The majority were those who would rather steal 
than labor, who would not serve their employers faithful- 
ly, who had little ambition beyond satiating their de- 



140 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

pravecl appetites, and delighted most in the excitement of 
wickedness. 

Those who dec^r labor are invariably persons whose 
ideas have been perverted by the circumstances of their 
lives. They are not compelled to seek a livelihood by 
maimal labor. They have but to need — and take, They 
toil not, for they consider it degrading; and inherited for- 
tune or the gambler's "luck" smooths their pathway 
through the world, too often at the expense of every gen- 
erous, manly sentiment. Consumers of the products of 
honest industry, they seldom hesitate to despise the soiled 
faces and callous hands of the artisan, and set up them- 
selves as barriers to his social advancement by denounc- 
ing him as a menial. 

It is very evident that Providence designed us all to 
work, each in his peculiar sphere, with hands or brains. 
u In the theatre of life," says an ancient writer, " it is re- 
served only for God and the angels to be lookers-on." 
There is so much to do — so much of error to tear down, 
so much of goodness to build up, so much of necessity to 
meet, so much of taste to gratify — that with each succeed- 
ing generation, in connection with the rapid growth of 
population, comes a proportionately increased demand for 
labor of the mind or muscles. The idler is the stumbling- 
block in the advancement of the age. The field of labor 
is no longer circumscribed. The improvements in ma- 
chinery have opened up new avenues of industry, and 
skill and activity are in demand. Sober and skillful 
mechanics, the young and the middle-aged, almost al- 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 141 

ways find employment, if they are willing to lay aside any 
undue pride of position and deny themselves the unremu- 
nerative pleasures of idleness. The genius of the inventor 
may be exercised in devising means to overcome the dif- 
ficulties of industry, while the farmer and artisan are en- 
abled to reap the benefit of his wisdom in the number 
and improved productions of their labor. Nor are we to 
believe that .even the angels remain passive spectators 
of human industry, but perform their respective and high- 
er duties with fidelity and cheerfulness. 

With the blessing of heaven upon honest industry, the 
position of the workingman possesses a dignity and im- 
portance which, from a lack of self-reliance and prudence, 
he too often fails to appreciate in all its fullness ; and for 
this reason he also, too often, falls a victim to the wiles of 
designing men, by yielding his right of suffrage and per- 
sonal influence to subserve bad and ruinous ends. In- 
deed, industrious and honest laborers frequently (but let 
us hope they do so ignorantly) contribute to the success 
of evil men and measures, and exert themselves to ele- 
vate the very individuals whom they should shun and 
oppose. Politicians and sharpers who too often govern their 
opinions and votes are only men, and there is no reason 
why workingmen should possess less strength of mind, 
less freedom of thought, less religion, or less value social- 
ly, than those who, by the possession of wealth or influ- 
ence, would degrade them to the status of a mere machine 
to be run in the interest of worldly ambition. No, it is 
rank inj ustice to place the laboring man or woman, the 



142 SCRIP AND STAFF. 

farmer, the mechanic, or any honest producer, among what 
are commonly called "the lower classes." If any class on 
earth may be considered "low" in the social scale, it com- 
prises those who grind the faces of the poor, spend money 
without earning it, consume without producing, scrimp 
the wages of skillful and industrious men and women, and 
do nothing except handle other people's means. 

In this connection we are led to offer a few susses- 
tions. Since labor is honorable and profitable, and in 
harmony with good citizenship and Christianity, we 
would advise no one to leave reputable employment, how- 
ever limited its remuneration, for uncertain or visionary 
projects. We would caution all against " strikes," for, too 
often, they are an evidence of weakness rather than of in- 
dependence of spirit; and especially against interfering 
with the lawful rights of employers, lest grief come to the 
offenders. While strikes last , the laborer verges on starv- 
ation, becomes reckless, and loses more than he gains, fi- 
nancially and morally. John the Baptist, the herald of 
the great Founder of Christianity, warned his hearers, 
among other things, to be content with their wages and 
do violence to no man. (Luke in., 14.) And the same 
God who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," (Ro- 
mans xii., 19) also said, " I will be a swift witness against 
those who oppress the hireling in his wages," (Malachi iii., 
5.) The oppressed laborer, therefore, has an all-powerful 
Friend in his Creator, who will sustain his rights. 

There is no reason why the laboring man or woman 
should not be a warm-hearted, obedient Christian. Many 



SCRIP AND STAFF. 143 

who labor hard for their daily bread are the followers of 
Christ, the stone-carpenter of Nazareth, in whom there 
was no guile. And this same Christ, perfectly knowing 
all our needs and infirmities, is the Saviour of the world, 
the wise, the loving Advocate and Helper of those who 
put their trust in him. Will he turn away coldly from 
the oppressed, the poor, the suffering ones for whom he 
himself suffered and died ? He never did, and until heav- 
en and earth shall pass away, hejnever will. All he asks 
is our confidence, our love, and obedient submission to 
the will of his Heavenly Father and ours, and he will do 
the rest. " If ye abide in me," he saj^s, " and my words 
abide in you, ye may ask what ye will, and it shall be 
done unto you." (John xv., 7.) Is not that a glorious 
promise ? 



144 SCRIP AND STAFF. 



FUsTALE . 



THE WAYSIDE CHAPEL. 



MID-WEEK. 

.Low-ceiled and dark, beside the lbusy street, 
Stands the dear chapel where our Lord we meet; 
Within, the dormant air droops like a blight — 
From the dim chancel gleams no cheerful light; 
Hushed is the organ's voice amid the gloom, 
While silence reigns o'er all, as in the tomb. 

SUNDAY MORNING. 

But list! — the hour of worship opes the door 

To every waiting soul ; here rich and poor 

Come and bow down with lowly heart and knee, 

And the Te Deum, with its pious glee, 

Cheers the devout, and fires his tongue with praise ; 

While Faith and Hope, in trust, their eyes upraise, 

Adoring, joyfully, the Saviour's grace; 

And God's great glory fills his holy place! 



THE END. 




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